Subway’s fall from second-largest restaurant chain to No. 3 in Technomic’s Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report, the prevailing story line in a study full of intriguing developments, reveals a lot more than just how one brand is struggling to hold on to its market share.
The chain’s 3.3% decrease in estimated annual sales means about $400 million off the top line for the brand with the most locations of any restaurant in the United States or the world. The setback in 2014 sales took Subway below the $12 billion mark, which Starbucks eclipsed on its way to leap-frogging Subway for the No. 2 spot—which, we should note, is still just one-third of McDonald’s annual sales of nearly $36 billion.