In a sad but eerily familiar tale, The Wall Street Journal’s Julie Jargon and Mike Spector recently recounted the tragic circumstances facing Quiznos, the once- hot toasted sandwich chain. Double-digit sales declines, massive store closings, internal infighting—you name it, Quiznos is facing it.
Without recounting all the gory details, Quiznos is a poster child for nearly every one of the seven growth-killing factors I highlight in When Growth Stalls. A deadly combination of the interminable recession, an ill-timed leveraged buyout and a series of powerful punches from arch-rival Subway (among other competitors) knocked the company for a loop. Add to that a crippling management/franchisee misalignment and a loss of focus, and it’s no surprise that Quiznos lost its nerve (a million-sandwich giveaway?) and any pretense of consistency in its brand positioning and value equation.
What now? Carry on reading this post.