Greedflation

No, I meant it’s in the seller that sold a property for much less then it could get.

 

Bull. Each Subway is owned by an individual, a franchisee. It costs between $225K and well over $500k to buy a franchise. Franchisees set their own prices, not who owns the name. They follow a set of corporate guidelines that have more to do with the brand (and where to get the supplies) than how much to charge. I know of a few franchisees who own several Subways and they set their own prices and there was a time I looked into buying one myself. There is no price gouging and it's that reason why so many are closing. Costs > income. It's a very paper-thin profit margin, so a franchisee can own 3 stores and walk away with a $100k salary for all 3, even though one is doing great and the other 2 might be losing money. I opted to forego owning one because life is too short and American small businesses are the worst way to earn a living. When labor costs increases by almost 100% in the last 3 years and a franchise might earn 1.2% profit, ouch. You go from an $85K salary to losing $45K in a heart beat. So all you can do from there is increase prices. You can lay off people but that impacts how you do business. I do know these guys have been trying to cut costs by getting rid of their managers and taking on that role themselves and some are able to do it for a short time but ultimately have to hire somebody. Working 140 hr weeks is impossible to do long-term and earning pennies on the dollar for every hour worked, why bother?

 

The reason so many Subways are closing is that Subway sucks.

 

Watch the piece from CNBC this morning with Elizabeth Warren looking like a complete dumbass with regards to inflation and pricing.

 

Target figuring out how to bring customers back. Quit gouging them.

https://www.reuters.com/business/re...-price-cuts-boost-quarterly-sales-2024-08-21/

 

Agreed!
I don't have Publix in Colorado, but Jimmy John's East Coast Italian Boars Head is pretty dang close. Can't remember the last time I had Subway, but I remembered it sucked.

 

Subway owned the industry for many years and didn't evolve. Now you have too many different sandwich shops all vying for the customer. I prefer Jersey Mikes and then Roly Poly/Jimmy Johns but it's been almost 4 years since I've had a sandwich of any kind. But before my keto days, those were my favorites. I still remember Quiznos being pretty good too but they, like Subway, just never could keep it together.

 

There's a lot more Subways than any other chain in the country. More than McD's or Starbucks.

 

McDonalds did the same … bragged on conference calls that they could raise prices at will without hurting sales… then hurt sales.

Now they’ve brought back $5 meals.

 

Agree… it’s all here, from the peak of $14 sandwiches to the 6.99 deals…
Subway lowers price for footlongs as it enters value menu wars – Orange County Register

There is a new place by me called Capriottes … it’s my new favorite…. It’s pretty expensive but worth it.

 

Yeah I read an article the other day about how bad fast food is hurting from gouging. Across the board return to cheaper options. I think the article was Taco Bell centric.

 

It really depends on the franchise as to the price setting. The franchise probably has the final say but the company certainly has say or influence. Plus if the company is advertising a sale you don’t want to be the franchisee who doesn’t honor it.

The fact that prices are moderating means supply/demand is working, as it always does. The price gouging and greedflation narratives are just stupid and when I hear such assertions my first thought is this person making such claims doesn’t understand business or economics.

 

it's pretty weird to see fast food combo meals going for $12-$14 ...
I think we talked about this chart before.

Is Fast Food Affordable Anymore? Here’s How Menu Prices Have Changed Over the Years [2024]

 

I dont get the subway hate. They bake their own bread in store. They are now slicing their own meat. After that its just veggies and condiment. I eat there regularly for fast food. The big issue is sodium so you have to balance. Subway's calorie count is much lower than Jimmy Johns, or Jersey Mikes or Firehouse, and it is much more affordable although all of those are good. And trigger warning: Publix is the most overrated sub on the planet. I think it is fine. Its a normal sub. But the cult following cracks me up.

 

I’m surprised to see Taco Bell near the top of that chart. The one near me still sells Bean Burritos for $1.49, which is my go to anyway… other Taco Bell’s have them around $2.25 or 2.50 now … I often wonder if some oversight has caused this Taco Bell to forget to raise the price on that item.

 

I eat very little meat over the last decade and certainly not processed meat, but subway always tasted "industrial" to me.

 

In all your posts you consistently fail to comprehend the long run vs the short run concept. Price elasticity over the short run is lower than over the long run. That concept is why greedflation works particularly within concentrated industries that informally collude to slow the market forces. Over the long run you are correct. In the short run your head is in the sand.

Watch a Kahn Academy Video:
Elasticity in the long run and short run (article) | Khan Academy

 

I mean, its a cold cut sandwich. The stuff has some drawbacks for sure particularly sodium. The fresh daily slicing improves the quality over a few years ago. They used to have some car tire ingredient or something in the bread they eliminated. Probably not car tire but whatever it was made some news. It has to beat the McDs Wendys Chick fila choices.