Franchises: The Rise And Fall Of Subway

Business Insider has this revealing short video on the struggles facing the sandwich franchise chain Subway. The business closed more than 1,000 stores in the US alone last year.

One intriguing aspect is that the typical cost of opening a new Subway franchise is just a fraction of the expense involved in opening a McDonald's franchise. This has led - in some US cities - to many Subway outlets operating in close proximity and cannibalising sales from each other.

The brand has also suffered from intense and fast-changing competition from McDonald's, Wendy's and others (including Pret, Eat, Starbucks and Costa in the UK) who have spent heavily remodelling their stores and offering much more to customers. Can Subway restore their brand image and turnaround what appears to be a significant decline? More here from CNN.