Subway co-founder Peter Buck, who turned his initial $1,000 investment into more than $1 billion, died on Thursday (18) aged 90, the company confirmed.
With more than 40,000 units worldwide, Subway is today one of the largest sandwich chains in the world. Buck, the company’s last surviving founder, left $1.7 billion in net worth, according to Forbes.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of Subway’s founders, Dr. Peter Buck. He was a shining example of a dedicated and active leader and an integral member of the Subway family,” said John Chidsey, CEO of Subway.
In 1965, Buck gave his family friend Fred DeLuca the idea of opening a baguette sandwich shop to help the then freshman earn money for college. Buck, who was a nuclear physicist, made an initial investment of $1,000, and “Pete’s Super Submarines” opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
In 1974, the two owned and operated 16 stores in Connecticut and then began franchising. According to food services research and consulting firm Technomic, sales at Subway units in the United States have dropped in recent years.
Amid competition from other fast-food companies, Subway system-wide sales in the US dropped to $8.3 billion in 2020 from $12.3 billion in 2013, its best year of the last 15, according to Technomic’s analysis.
When Subway rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, it “had” customization, said Robert Byrne, director of Consumer and Industry Insights at Technomic, which means customers could choose what they wanted in real time.
Now, customers can make their own burritos, salads, sandwiches or bowls, creating fierce competition in the space. As more restaurants offer personalized options, “we want to continue to … dominate this space,” Chidsey said earlier this year.
Subway refreshed its menu with new recipes and toppings in July, which helped the company increase sales in August 2021.
Buck’s fellow Subway founder DeLuca died in 2015 at age 67.
Buck was born in 1930 in South Portland, Maine. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1952 and earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Columbia University. His philanthropic efforts were managed by the Peter and Carmen Lucia Buck Foundation, which he founded with his late wife in 1999.
With the collaboration of Danielle Wiener-Bronner, from CNN
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Reference: CNN Brasil
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