At the age of 17, DeLuca decided to take Psychology at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. Working in a hardware store was not enough to finance his tuition for college then so he asked Dr. Peter Buck, a nuclear physicist, for help.
With $1,000, Peter's Super Submarine was up and running at DeLuca's hometown - Bridgeport in 1965. Offering only a variety of sandwiches and salads, DeLuca's sub shop made a big hit in the fast food chain industry and eventually changed its name to Subway.
DeLuca took advantage of the lack of quick-service chains to cater to customers anywhere, anytime. Known for its freshly baked sandwiches, Subway has been baking its own bread at its very store everyday since 1983. DeLuca even designed Subway's bread machine to ensure the quality of its bread as a healthy alternative to traditional fast food.
Subway then set out on a campaign to increase its visibility via franchises and its first franchisee opened in 1974. Twenty years later, Subway celebrated 30 profitable years and witnessed the opening for business of its 11,000th franchise outlet.
Fred DeLuca , Subway's business leader, managed to withstand the growing popularity of other quick-service chains such as McDonald's and 7-Eleven. At its peak, Subway earn $8 billion per year from US sales alone. Today there are 26,389 Subway shops in 85 countries; 7,500 opened in past year. This summer a group of Subway operators sued DeLuca over control of ad dollars; suit alleges he uses marketing budget to drive up total sales at expense of franchisee profits.
Fred is rumored to have never purchased a new car, instead always purchasing second hand cars. Whenever he flies he only ever purchases economy class tickets. Fred pays close attention to money spent by the company. He is reported to be always looking to increase sales, decrease costs and increase profitability.
Sources: http://www.atouchofbusiness.com/
http://www.forbes.com
VIDEO - Fred Deluca on CNBC:
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