Subway Australia makes biggest changes in history to its menu and stores

Shoba Rao
20 September 2019
News Corp Australia Network
AFTER running a controversial menu trial, Subway Australia is making its biggest changes in its history to improve how customers order and dine that will affect every restaurant.
The fast food chain recently copped backlash online after it shook up its menu across 100 of its restaurants.
It introduced more than 25 new menu items — and decided to axe carrots and pickles.
But after listening to customers, they decided to bring them back halfway through the trial.
Now, Subway is planning to roll out its new menu across its entire network of 1600 restaurants in Australia and New Zealand before the end of this year.
Subway’s Australia & New Zealand country director Geoff Cockerill told News Corp Australia that unless there was “overwhelming feedback”, the new menu will be rolled out with very few changes made to it.
Mr Cockerill said that the majority of ingredients would be sourced locally, and the menu had been tailored to what customers want.
The new menu includes a range of new cheeses, proteins, breads, salads and sauces.
“We’re not a Michelin star restaurant, but we’re delivering to more of what the guests want,” he said.
“Overwhelmingly the feedback has been positive, early on we made the choice to take carrots and pickles out, but halfway through we put them back in.”
As part of the new menu, Mr Cockerill said that panini sandwiches, signature wraps and salads being trialled in around 50 restaurants would also be rolled out to all stores by early 2019.
“We’re not pushing that change through until after Christmas until we get it right. Our goal is to aggressively launch that in the first quarter of next year,” he said.
Along with the new menu, Mr Cockerill said that prices were being reviewed.
But there’s no “definitive decision” on whether they will rise.
“Some things might go up and down but [the suggestion that] ‘it’s a great new menu, lets charge more’ — that’s certainly not the message,” he said.
He acknowledged there were people who wanted to pay more money for a “premium” product, but there’s also customers who want “middle of the range” items and those who also want “value”.
“I would like to see us offer more premium offers for our guests. We certainly won’t be playing in the $1 hamburger area with McDonalds but I’d like us to have great every day value so people can enjoy Subway more often.”
“I would not like us to play too far down that area because of our perception with freshness and quality.”
“But the new menu is one of the biggest changes in Subway’s history and we are one of the first markets in the world to do it.”
NEW PARTNERS AND A SUBWAY APP
Mr Cockerill also said the “number one” growth opportunity for Subway will be partnering with a third party delivery service like UberEats, Deliveroo or Menulog. He said they would work to develop an agreement with these platforms.
“It’s absolutely important because that’s what the guests want. We see the future there,” he said.
Subway is also building an app for customers to pre-order their meal and then collect it at their nearest store.
“We will have an online ordering system next year and in combination with that, it’ll be linked to a loyalty program with different areas of loyalty so guests can receive offers to encourage them to go to Subway,” he said.
STORE LOCATION REVIEW
As part of its future growth, Mr Cockerill also said some store locations are not “guest friendly anymore” and are being reviewed as part of normal processes. He said some stores will close, but they will aim to relocate them.
He said they are “scouting” for new locations to set up new restaurants in places like Western Sydney and in Brisbane. They are also looking at service stations, locations near hospitals and office buildings.
Subway will also have 60 newly refurbished restaurants by next year across Australia and New Zealand, which will have its new menu, new decor and “guest-friendly” options like Wi-Fi and USB charging ports installed.
“I think there will be restaurants that will close, because the lease is not being renewed and there’s no other location, it happens from time to time,” he said.
“We’re doing everything in our power to sustain our size of network.
“We continually review it because we want them to be in right spot for our franchise owners to make money.”
He described the future of Subway in Australia as “really positive”, despite reports from the US that the chain is closing 500 stores this year after declining sales. Subway’s US store count fell by 909 last year.
Mr Cockerill, who joined Subway in June, said Australia is now the leading market in the world to change the brand to create a “better Subway”.
“We’re doing stuff and that’s the key feedback from our franchisees is if we stand still we’re going backwards,” he said.
“The legacy I will leave is actually implementing this change which will be the biggest change for Subway in many years.