Subway says its most extensive menu makeover in the company’s nearly 60-year history is paying off. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 8.4% in the third quarter, the privately held company announced Wednesday. For the past 18 months, Subway said it had “record-setting sales” across its roughly 20,000 US locations, bolstered by a number of changes that include new sandwiches, soups and store remodels.
It’s a stark turnaround for the chain, which has been dealing with declining sales and store count as people gravitate toward its rivals. Sales at Subway’s US locations have been falling in recent years, according to the research firm Technomic. System-wide sales at Subway’s US locations were $12.3 billion in 2013, which was its best year of the past 15 years. in 2021, sales slumped to $9.4 billion, according to Technomic’s analysis.