Fred DeLuca

“You really have to understand this isn't a business where you sit in the back room and do calculations - you have to be very concerned about employees and customers, because that's really what's going to bring you success.”

“If you treat people nicely, and you allow them to fulfill a role that is satisfying for them, they'll accomplish a lot, and they'll enjoy their work.”

“Higher unemployment generally bodes well for franchising. People are looking for a new opportunity, and people who have jobs are a little less confident they'll always have a job.”

“Subway is a real point of pride. We have influenced the way people eat.”

“I don't have any interest in cashing out or leaving the business or doing something else. I just love Subway, and I want to keep focusing on the company for the benefit of all our franchise owners. So I'm kind of like married to the job.”

“I tell everybody there are only three things that we do. We build sales at the store level, we build profits at the store level, and we build more stores. The first two things go in tandem, of course. It's pretty tough to build profits without sales.”

“Every time I come across learning items of interest, I'll send distribution voice mail to the appropriate group in the organization.”

“In a typical situation, it's going to take pretty close to a year to get your location in, get your permits, and then get open.”

“Most of the people we sign on as development agents commit to goals they don't believe are possible.”

“In some markets, we don't have a lot of room to expand. We've done studies of store density and essentially found our more dense markets have more than one store per 15,000 people.”

“I was able to solve enough big problems along the way that the sheriff didn't come along and put the 'bankruptcy' sign up.”

“It's tough for people to get into business, especially a small business.”

“We have always had many more franchisee candidates than available locations.”

“In 1974, we began franchising. We didn't have any big thought process except that, 'OK, franchising will help us get to our goal of 32 stores and help us run stores farther away from home.'”

“The payroll tax is affecting sales. It's causing sales declines.”

“The franchisees are uniquely in touch at the local level. They see what's going on in their communities in a way we couldn't ever imagine.”

“There are so many ingredients that are approved for use. You can't be an expert on all of them.”

“How you handle the obstacles has a big impact on how you do. If you give up, then you obviously don't get there, but if you're persistent, and you keep thinking of new ways to approach the business, you're more likely to reach your goal.”

“Everybody eats three times a day; it's only a question of where they choose to eat. The longer-term trends are people eat out more often.”

“I was 17 years old when I built the first store... A very simple, basic store with a basic counter - not very much equipment, all purchased second-hand. And the menu was very simple.”