MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. -- Cousins Subs said that it is celebrating 40 years of business with a renewed focus on its product, franchise growth and marketing investments.
Cousins Subs is investing heavily in a variety of in-store marketing assets, which includes the installation of contemporary new menu boards and permanent table tents at each location. The company also will launch 10 new products in 2012, it said, including an enhanced cheese steak line with all steak products featuring 50% more meat, a new traditional Philly Cheese Steak, gourmet salads, limited-time offerings, the return of its Seafood sub and a new indulgent offering called the Big Daddy.
Led by second-generation president and COO Christine Specht, Cousins Subs is enlisting a management team to enhance the family-owned brand.
"We are going 'all in' with our new product initiatives, growth plans and marketing investments in 2012," she said. "Our focus is on our product, the quality of our franchisees and a calculated and steady growth effort to ensure we're successful for our owner/operators and our brand in the long term."
The company also introduced a new marketing campaign, "Better Bread. Better Subs. Better Day." It will be executed in advertising and public relations plans for both consumer and franchise sales campaigns in 2012. The aggressive changes and increased marketing investments have Cousins Subs poised to grow both same-store sales for existing franchisees and facilitate the launch of an aggressive franchise development plan to grow the company by 10% annually, the company said.
According to Cliff Jones, who recently committed to develop a total of 10 Cousins Subs stores in the Phoenix market over the next three years, the company is focused on sustainable steady growth and the profitability of its franchise partners. "Cousins Subs offers a franchise model and support system that focuses on individual operator's profitability and future growth opportunities," he said. "Their commitment to their franchise partners is reflected in these new initiatives and significant reinvestment in the Cousins system."
In 1972, Bill Specht and his cousin opened the first Cousins Sub Shop in Milwaukee to replicate their favorite East Coast subs. Their handcrafted, deli-style subs won a fan base that loved Cousins' secret recipe for freshly baked bread with the combination of "chewy-meets-crispy." This bread eventually became the cornerstone for their "Better Bread. Better Subs." positioning. Menomonee Falls,. Wis.-based Cousins Subs and its franchisees now operate approximately 150 stores in six states.
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