Publix
 | |
| Company type | Private/Employee Owned |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
| Founded | 1930 |
| Headquarters | Lakeland, Florida |
Key people | Charlie Jenkins Jr., CEO Ed Crenshaw, President Howard Jenkins, Chairman |
| Products | Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor |
| Revenue | $20.6 billion (2005) |
4,759,000,000 United States dollar (2022)  | |
| 2,918,000,000 United States dollar (2022) | |
Number of employees | 141,000 |
| Website | www.publix.com |
Publix Super Markets, Inc. (commonly known as Publix) is a United States supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, it is an employee-owned, privately held corporation and was ranked No. 4 on Forbes' 2006 list of "America's Largest Private Companies."[1] The company's 2005 sales totaled US$20.6 billion, with profits of almost $1 billion, ranking #104 on Fortune magazine's Fortune 500 list of U.S. companies in 2006. Publix's slogan is "Where Shopping is a Pleasure", which during the chain's seventy-fifth anniversary was changed to "It's Been Our Pleasure".
Publix has operations in five states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. It employs over 141,000 people at its 889 retail locations, corporate offices, eight grocery distribution centers, and nine Publix brand manufacturing facilities which produce its dairy, deli, bakery, and other food products.[2] In addition, Publix owns "Crispers", a chain of restaurants in Florida specializing in salads; some Crispers locations are adjacent to Publix's supermarkets.
Publix's main competitors are Albertsons, Food Lion, Kroger, Sweetbay, Wal-Mart, and Winn-Dixie.
History
George W. Jenkins opened the first Publix market in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1930. In 1934 his single store managed $120,000 in sales. The next year, in 1935, he opened a second location, the Economy Food Store in Winter Haven. Despite the Great Depression, his stores actually managed to attain financial success.
In 1940, Jenkins (affectionately called 'Mr. George' by his employees) mortgaged an orange grove to build Florida's first supermarket. His "food palace" had piped-in music, air conditioning, cold cases for frozen and refrigerated items, in-store donut and flower shops and electric-eye automatic doors. The supermarket became very popular among shoppers, but World War II materials shortages prevented him from building more for a few years. In 1945 Jenkins purchased the 19-store All American food stores chain and converted them into Publix Super Markets.[3]
In 1951, Publix moved its headquarters to Lakeland, Florida, and built its first distribution warehouse there. At the same time, it began to close the old All American stores and replace them with brand-new stores. Publix crossed $50 million in sales and $1 million in profit for the first time in 1956. In 1957, the donut shop in each store was expanded into a full-service bakery.
By 1959, Publix was the dominant supermarket chain in central Florida, and began expansion to southeast Florida. The company built a distribution center in Miami, Florida in 1963, and also started providing deli services at that time. In 1970, sales crossed $500 million, and reached $1 billion in 1974. This was the same year that stores began to open in Jacksonville, Florida.
In 1980, Publix became the first large grocery chain to utilize Universal Product Code scanning in all its stores.[citation needed] In 1982, the Presto! ATM network was launched, and the company soon installed ATMs in every Publix Super Market. Sales crossed $5 billion in 1989. The first store outside of Florida opened in Savannah, Georgia in 1991, and distribution and manufacturing facilities in Lawrenceville, Georgia followed soon after. Stores were soon opened in South Carolina (1993), Alabama (1996) and Tennessee ([2002).
Publix attempted to enter the online grocery business with PublixDirect, in hopes of serving the southeastern United States. PublixDirect's website launched on September 24, 2001. Unfortunately the attempt was during the dot-com crash, alongside competitor Webvan's well-publicized fall from grace. Publix found that demand for online grocery shopping in the Miami area testing location was not as great as the company had expected, and shut down PublixDirect on August 23, 2003.
By the end of 2006, Publix will have completed the implementation of its new point of sale terminals, replacing the previous generation of IBM terminals. The new system, Retalix Storeline, combines a Hewlett-Packard RP5000 terminal with a touchscreen system and an Epson thermal printer. A separate LCD screen for customers lists the last several items scanned, recipe ideas and Publix advertising.[4] [5]
Market
Each store has products and services in grocery, deli, bakery, produce, floral, meat and seafood departments, with some stores having a café, sushi, pharmacy, in store photo-lab (currently being phased out)[citation needed] and liquor store.
In addition, there is a service provided where a special order can be requested, where non-regularly stocked or rare items as well as carrying previously hard-to-find food items can then be ordered, including some that are normally only found at health food stores, including organic meats, fruits, and vegetables; In addition, vegetarian and vegan products; hypoallergenic foods; and other specialty food items can be ordered. This service can be found at the customer service counter.
A recent addition to the stores is the "Aprons" cooking demonstrations. Customers are encouraged to sample the dishes and take a recipe card home with them. All recipes are developed in house using easy to prepare or prepackaged ingredients.
The customer service counter also provides check cashing, money orders, Western Union services, 2-day photo processing, and lottery tickets. Some stores also provide Ticketmaster.
Many stores have a section dedicated to products imported from other countries, such as Marmite and Cadbury's chocolates from the United Kingdom. The Jupiter Farms store in Jupiter, Florida, carries animal feed to serve their customers.[citation needed]
Pharmacy
Publix's first in-store pharmacy was opened in 1986 in Altamonte Springs, Florida. In 1995, one-third of the stores had a pharmacy, a percentage now standing at 77%. Publix Pharmacies have ranked number one for customer satisfaction in supermarket pharmacies, for four years in a row by an independent research company.[6]
Publix Sabor
On April 21, 2005, Publix opened its first Hispanic-themed supermarket, Publix Sabor, in the Puerto Rican majority neighborhood of Buenaventura Lakes just outside of Kissimmee, Florida. The 40,000-square-foot store, renovated from a pre-existing Publix Super Market, almost exclusively features Hispanic ethnic products, and has a cafe in the deli/bakery area that serves Hispanic food. A second store was opened shortly after in Hialeah, Florida. Publix recently announced that they would be opening two more Sabor stores in the Miami area, one would be a remodeled store in the Flagler Park area and the location of the other is still under consideration.
Current projects
On January 9, 2006, Publix announced that it would open a Carrabba's Italian Market at the University Walk Publix in Sarasota, Florida, in conjunction with Carrabba's Italian Grill.[7]
Publix Greenwise Markets is a concept the company is trying in response to the increase in the number and profitability of health food stores and increasing awareness of nutrition, and will focus on natural and organic items, similar to a Whole Foods Market. This is an expansion of a concept that already has been running for several years, as most stores already have a Greenwise section. The first two stores will be in Miami and West Palm Beach.
In select markets, Publix is also conducting trials of other various specialties, including a fully staffed cologne and perfume fragrance department, in conjunction with Camrose Trading.[8]
Publix also currently operates six Publix Pix gasoline-convenience stores. Locations are limited during the trial basis of the concept. Also in the works is Publix Liquors, a stand-alone liquor store. The liquor sales will be in a separate entrance on the exterior of the building, as required by local laws. The company is modeling this after many other grocery chains. Currently, all Publix Pix and Publix Liquors locations are adjacent to a Publix Super Market.
Awards
Publix has won various local, regional, and national industry and philanthropic awards, among them:
- Publix has been listed by Fortune magazine as one of the 100 Best Places to Work in America every year since the list was created in 1998.[9] It is also listed by Fortune as one of "America's Most Admired Companies."
- Publix was given highest customer satisfaction rating among supermarkets by the American Customer Satisfaction Index.[10]
- The National Center for Employee Ownership lists Publix as the largest company in the United States with at least 50% employee-ownership.[11]
- Publix is one of the Top Ten National Corporate Leaders for the United Way, through both employee and corporate donations.[12]
Controversy
In 1997, a settlement was reached in a class action lawsuit concerning gender discrimination. Publix paid $81.5 million in damages to its female employees and made policy changes in its workplaces as a result.[13]
In 2003, Publix supported a successful bill that prevents people from suing if their land is polluted by dry cleaning chemicals. Dry cleaning chemicals can penetrate floors and seep into groundwater. Publix had in the past lost a lawsuit filed by a nearby property owner whose property had been contaminated in this manner.[14]
On October 4, 2005, Publix sued Visa and MasterCard for unfair business practices over their unannounced and non-negotiable raises in merchant account fees.[15] Visa lost a similar lawsuit filed by Wal-Mart in 2004.
In 2006, Bank of America began a two-year phase-out of its banks in Publix Super Markets, leaving customers displeased due to the loss of its in-store convenience.[16] Many Georgia locations have in-store SunTrust locations.[citation needed]
Locations
As of December 1, 2006, Publix has 889 supermarkets in the following states:[2]
- Florida - 643
- Georgia - 166
- South Carolina - 38
- Alabama - 28
- Tennessee - 14
Distribution centers are located in:[2]
- Georgia
Manufacturing facilities are located in:[2]
- Florida
- Deerfield Beach - dairy plant, fresh foods
- Jacksonville - fresh foods
- Lakeland - bakery plant, dairy plant, deli kitchen, fresh foods, and printing services
- Georgia
- Atlanta - bakery plant
- Lawrenceville - dairy plant
References
- ^ "The Largest Private Companies". Forbes.com. November 9, 2006. Retrieved 15 November.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Facts and Figures Publix, Retrieved December 1, 2006 Cite error: The named reference "stats" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ The Jenkins Story, University of South Florida Office of Donor Relations & Foundation Scholarship Programs
- ^ Publix Super Markets Selects Epson Printers for Store-Wide System Rollout, Epson Press Corner, September 17, 2004.
- ^ Publix Super Markets Selects HP for Point-of-sale, In-store Processing and Pharmacy Systems, HP Press Release, September 3, 2004.
- ^ Publix pharmacy ranked No. 1 for customer satisfaction, Orlando Business Journal, September 18, 2006.
- ^ Carrabba's Italian Market to Open in Sarasota Publix, Publix News Release, January 9, 2006.
- ^ Publix picks up scent of competition, South Florida Business Journal, February 24, 2006.
- ^ 100 Best Companies to Work for in America 2006, Great Place to Work Institute
- ^ Publix named top supermarket for customer satisfaction, Orlando Business Journal, February 23, 2006.
- ^ The Employee Ownership 100, The National Center for Employee Ownership
- ^ National Corporate Leadership, United Way of America
- ^ EOC, Publix settle gender discrimination suit, Jacksonville Business Journal, January 27, 1997.
- ^ Environmentalists grumble over bills, St. Petersburg Times, May 4, 2003.
- ^ Publix Announces Suit Against Visa and MasterCard, Publix News Release, October 4, 2005.
- ^ Bank of America to Expand Branches in Greater Florida, Bank of America, March 16, 2006.