Mangalore Shows Way out to American Fastfood 'Subway'
By Melka Miyar
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (MSP)
Mangalore, Jun 5: Subway, an American sandwiches company that created a sensation in the initial stages of it's operations here, has closed it's outlet in the city. No one is able to reveal the reasons why Subway chose to leave the city. But it has given rise to a horde of questions in connection with the phenomenal growth of the elite fast food sector in the city and it's sustainability.
A new chapter started in the city's history with the entry of malls culture here a few years’ ago. These malls have been successful in attracting huge crowds since the very beginning. These malls also created a market for the western foods. A new type of food culture set foot in the city after these developments. Subway had entered the city after analyzing all the positive and negative factors and satisfied with it's feasibility. But it has since accepted the fact that it is unable to survive in the Mangalorean market and called it a day.
Unlike other sandwich companies, Subway was backed by a global brand, which enjoys good reputation in the global market. This company was formed in the year 1965 in the USA and global community has fair knowledge about this well-publicized company. Subway was all set to capitalize on these strong points in Mangalore city. But it appears, it failed at some level to build on these aspects and gain customer confidence.
The entry of fast food culture into the city has given rise to a hot debate in the city. The people, who accepted Americanization of their lifestyle, accepted this new trend wholeheartedly. Moreover, Mangalore is the only district headquarters which enjoys global connection to a great extent and Americanization has been spreading here rapidly. A large number of NRI students come here for their educational purposes as this city is known for engineering and medical colleges. The growth of IT sector and call centers also contributed immensely for the promotion of fast food culture in the city.
Meanwhile, there is a strong opposition from the traditionalists who argue that fast food is harmful to health. Moreover, India has a rich and healthy food culture which is globally famous and contributes to a healthy and long life.
In between all these debates and dicussions, Subway had been successful to attract large number of customers in the initial days. The customers used to crowd the outlet solely because of the reputation the Subway enjoys at the global level. The ‘SUBWAY’ chain is the single largest made-to-order foot-long submarine sandwich chain in the world. But it has not been able to retain the loyalty of customers owing to various reasons.
According to a few customers, Subway miserably failed to set itself apart from other sandwich companies which already existed in the city. Moreover, the quality of the products was not up to the expectations of the local customers. The customers were expecting something more, as the brand succeeded in etching out a separate slot for itself among the global brands. It appears, that the lack of experience of the local franchisees here tarnished the image of Subway. The servers here were unable to deliver the right quality and stand up to the expectations of it's customers. The customers didn’t come back again even though the prices fixed by the outlet were competitive.
Another contributory factor for it's exit might be the fact that it was located at a wrong location. It was opened on the third floor of Bharath Mall. Customers had to pay a visit to this floor specifically to taste the products of Subway. Meanwhile, other sandwich companies were successful in setting up base in the ground floor. That’s why the customers didn’t want to go through the bother of climbing up to the third floor. Finally, Subway had to leave the city. But it's exit has left a clear message to the other fast food outlets that, the customers here are choosy and the path is not as easy as expected by the multinational companies.
Also see - When Subway Entered Mangalore...