I used to work at a consulting firm that had subway as a client. The Subway ecosystem is very political. Part of the process that corporate Subway has to deal w

I used to work at a consulting firm that had subway as a client. The Subway ecosystem is very political. Part of the process that corporate Subway has to deal with is IPC or Independent Purchasing Coop. They are a Coop that represents franchisees to battle with Subway's corporate agenda. The problem is that in order to have a larger say in the topics that IPC fights for, you need to own more stores. Basically as a solo franchise you are at Subway's will until buy enough stores to have clout. With the most powerful franchise owner being the the guy who owns almost all the stores in California. A difficulty with owning a new store is you have to get approved by the regional DA. Who is typically an IPC member, and provides all new franchises to friends and family. I'm fairly certain if you failed out of government politics, you could take a shot in the Subway ecosystem. Regarding the politics at Subway, corporate culture was cut throat. While I was there Fred was mostly hands off, allowing execs to fight for projects and visibility. The executive turnover was high. Probably because they were cut throat in their hiring negotiations. It was common for people to cycle out in under 5 years.