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Subway stores to outnumber McDonald's
The sandwich chain, which opens 40 stores a week, is within striking distance of overtaking McDonald's in locations -- but not sales.
If you think you're seeing just about as many Subway signs as McDonald's (MCD) signs when you're out and about, you're right.
In fact, Advertising Age says, within a few months, there will be more Subway outlets worldwide than McDonald's stores.
As of Monday, Ad Age said, there were 31,771 Subway outlets, compared with 32,158 McDonald's outlets, and Subway, which adds 40 new stores a week, expects to hit 31,800 this week.
No, this doesn't mean Mickey D's, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU), is about to lose out on sales. Not a prayer when a company is generating $23 billion a year in that category.
The average McDonald's outlet grosses about $2.3 million a year. A Subway outlet averages $455,000. McDonald's has a much heftier advertising budget: $815 million a year, compared with Subway's $375 million.
But Subway is growing, and it is growing rapidly. Not bad for the company that Fred DeLuca founded at age 17 in 1965.
McDonald's, meanwhile, has trimmed back on adding new restaurants, preferring for now to work on building up the profitability of existing restaurants.
One reason for Subway's growth is that its workers make sandwiches on the spot to the customer's order. It can say -- and does so loudly -- that its ingredients are fresh. It doesn't deep-fry anything, although it does bake sandwiches now to compete with competitors such as Quiznos.
Another is that its small stores and low start-up investment allow a would-be entrepreneur to get into a Subway outlet relatively cheaply.
A Subway outlet is easier to locate than a McDonald's, which needs a sizable parking lot with all the trimmings.
The downside, which has resulted in lawsuits in the past, is that Subway has been accused of locating stores so close to each other that neither can survive.
All Subway outlets are franchisee-owned. Some franchisees own as many as 1,000 outlets.
Subway has 22,740 U.S. locations. And if there's a saturation point, development director Don Fertman has said they're not there yet.
The chain is currently focusing on areas of lower penetration (by Subway standards) such as Boston, the home of Dunkin' Donuts.
And it wants to break into the breakfast market.
I love Subway's & Quizno's BUT don't like Mickey D's.
Now Mickey D's has one of the best sweet tea's around.
I am in the south and here we like our tea sweet!! 
I've always wondered why all Subway's smell the same, bad! That is not how "fresh" bread smells when it's baked.
If you live in Denver the best place to get a great sandwich is Spicy Pickle, it's fresh and there's a huge selection of gourmet ingredients that you'll never find at a Subway.
as a vegetarian, I can't comment on their meat selection.
However I always end up with a great sub when I order the veggie delight! I can customize how much of what veggies and dressings i want without the huff and puff that you get at other stores.
Lastly, if the service sucks so badly, you should speak up. moaning and groaning on the internet doesn't change much. head to your local subway and let them know what they can do better (politely)
Lastly, being healthy is part of a mindset. you have to do your research, in the same way that McD's is currently trying to advertise as a healthy fast food place, Subway wants to do the same. Good choices rep good rewards.
Honestly if there's another sandwhich shop in your town I would suggest going there. Pay the extra 50 cents to a $1.00 for fresh sliced meats with some taste, and bread that was actually baked correctly. Trust me very few employees know how to bake the bread the right way.
I worked at subway for 2 years and i can tell you that the only fresh ingredients are onions,green peppers and tomatoes. Everything else comes in pre-packaged bags, and some of it is even frozen and has to be thawed. I still know the calorie count for everything in there and it really is not any healthier for you. The only healthy product is a salad or a turkey sandwhich on wheat with no cheese and very little dressing, everything is really is just as bad as a burger you are just getting more nutrition if you actually eat all of the vegetables.
Calorie wise you aren't really do yourself any favor especially if you get chips with it. They market that you have the option to eat healthy but in reality there really isn't much fresh or healthy available, they really should slice their own deli meats at the very least. I personally believe subway is rather decieving, any time a customer asked me how many calories where in the sandwhich they just ordered they look extremely shocked when i gave them the # because they don't realize only wheat and no cheese and very little dressing is what's giving you the range you were aiming for.
I was not referring to the vegetables - I was referring to the bread (the dough, which is cooked "fresh") contains many chemicals and additives and doesn't have the taste or texture of fresh bread. The meat is all processed and contains numerous chemicals as well. The same for the cheese. So to call these things "fresh" is misleading. How can something that never existed in nature be considered fresh?
StockScouter data provided by Gradient Analytics, Inc.
Quotes supplied by Interactive Data.
MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.
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