Publix

Publix is a supermarket chain based in Lakeland, Florida, United States. Their slogan is, "Publix, where shopping is a pleasure." It was founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins.

Publix has over 850 locations in five states: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama. Publix has eight distribution centers, seven of which are in Florida, the eighth being in Georgia. Publix brand manufacturing, which produces dairy, deli, bakery and fresh-food products, is done exclusively in Florida and Georgia, with five manufacturing facilities in all.

Publix is an employee-owned, privately-held corporation. It is the largest employee-owned grocery chain and the fastest-growing employee-owned company in the United States. Its 2004 sales totaled US$18.7 billion. It was ranked #117 on FORTUNE magazine's FORTUNE 500 list of U.S. companies in 2005.

Publix's main competitors are Kroger, Albertsons, Food Lion, Kash 'n Karry (soon to be renamed Sweetbay), and Winn-Dixie. Publix tries to separate itself from other supermarkets by offering higher quality products and services. For example, Publix baggers will push your shopping cart to your car and there is a strict no tipping policy. Publix also carries previously hard-to-find food items that could only be purchased at health food stores, including organic meats, fruits, and vegetables; vegetarian and vegan products; hypoallergenic foods; and other specialty food items.

Publix also tried to enter the on-line grocery business with Publix Direct, with hopes of serving the Southeast United States. However just as on-line grocer Webvan's well-publicized fall from grace, Publix found that demand for online grocery shopping was not as popular as thought, and shut the doors of Publix Direct on August 23, 2003.

As of 2005, Publix has been listed by FORTUNE magazine as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" for eight straight years. It is also listed by FORTUNE as one of "America's Most Admired Companies". It has won various local, regional and national industry and philantrophic awards.

History

George W. Jenkins opened the first Publix market in Winter Haven, Florida, in 1930. In 1934 his single store managed US$120,000 in sales. The next year, in 1935, he opened a second store in Winter Haven. Despite the Great Depression, his stores were surprisingly successful.

In 1940, Jenkins (called "Mr. George" affectionately by his employees) mortgaged an orange grove to build Florida's first supermarket. His supermarket had, among other things, 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 was a smash hit, but World War II materials shortages prevented him from building more for a few years. In 1945 he purchased the 19-store All American food stores chain and converted them into Publix supermarkets.

In 1951, Publix moved its headquarters to Lakeland 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 US$50 million in sales and US$1 million in profit for the first time in 1956. In 1957, the donut shop in each store expanded into a full-service bakery operation.

By 1959, Publix was the dominant supermarket chain in Central Florida, and began expansion to Southeast Florida. They built a distribution center in Miami, Florida in 1963. They also started providing deli services at that time. In 1970, sales crossed US$500 million, and reached US$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 anywhere to utilize Universal Product Code scanning in all its stores. In 1982, the Presto! ATM network was launched, and quickly there was an ATM installed in every Publix supermarket. Sales crossed US$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) as well.

On April 21, 2005, Publix opened their first Hispanic-themed supermarket, Publix Sabor, in Kissimmee, Florida. The 40,000-ft² store, renovated from a pre-existing Publix supermarket, 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.

External link

• Publix (http://www.publix.com) Official Website