After tackling topics like Critical Race Theory, Wrongful Convictions, Abortion Rights, and Environmental Racism, Sunday’s episode of Last Week Tonight dealt with an arguably less controversial topic: Sandwiches. Specifically, multinational fast-food chain Subway’s sandwiches.
Host John Oliver started off the main story by reminding us how Subway has been in the news fairly often for awful reasons, including how Ireland’s Supreme Court considered Subway’s bread to be closer to cake than actual bread due to its sugar levels. However, the focus of this story was not so much the numerous controversies the restaurant chain has seen throughout the years but Subway’s overall business structure and the need to implement firmer regulations on franchises that operate similarly.
First off, the British-American comedian laid out Subway’s questionable history of expansion. To start with, the fast-food chain has more global locations than any other restaurant. However, thousands of Subway locations were forced to close because the dream many owners had in regard to opening their own restaurants “turned into a nightmare”. The desire for expansion started with founder, Fred DeLuca, who sought to open new restaurants because of the illusion of success it created.
As Oliver explains, it is incredibly easy to open a Subway location, in fact, it could be argued that it is far too easy. The costs for opening a Subway are at most half a million dollars which does not compare to other chains like McDonald’s. Although it is easy to open a Subway, the same could not be said for maintaining it, as it brings far less revenue than other fast-food franchises and, on top of that, franchisees must pay a very significant portion of what they make back to the parent company. What’s more, owners are at the mercy of the decisions the company makes, often having to pay from their own pocket for any redesigning changes, for instance. This makes it so that some people who decide to open a Subway are often investing their life savings on, metaphorically speaking, a boat full of holes. This situation has only been made worse by the new stifling contracts that “no one in their right mind would sign”.
The main takeaway from this episode is that there are things that should be done to regulate not only Subway but all franchises like it. These regulations include having the FTC tighten up the rules on them and making the disclosure of financial performance obligatory to give potential investors the full picture of what they might be getting into. In short, there should be way more transparency.
In talking about Subway during the episode, Oliver had to mention how ubiquitous the product placement for the brand is, especially in Korean dramas. And naturally, to end with a cherry on top, Last Week Tonight did not pass up the chance to make their own heartfelt short Korean drama taking place in a Subway restaurant. Check out the result in the video below:
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