Executive Summary : Publix Store Essay

The biggest competitor is Win Dixie because their product is almost the same high qualities and they both have baggers to put their customers' groceries and if the customer want they can wheel their carts to their cars for them without giving them any tips. According to Food & Lifestyle, Consumer Goods Publix will continue to dominate competitors in 2015.

Publix not only has a responsibility to its customers but as well to their associates. Publix believes customers are the reason any business exist, and they are focused on delivering the best service at a fair price and as well providing a safe shopping environment. Associates are the source of success, and Publix associates should not accept any gifts or premiums from any customer for his or her on cause. When employed within the Publix Corporation you are responsible to the communities in which you live or work. Failure to report a violation may lead to termination and be viewed as condoning the violation. All violations should be reported to the Publix ethics hotline, and from there all calls should be kept confidential unless the individual wants to do otherwise.

With sales of over thirty billion back in 2014, Publix is an American supermarket that has been listed on the top ten American’s largest private companies by Forbes in 2010. It is also the fourteenth largest retailer in America. Publix is privately owned and operated by its 176,500 employees, with its main base in Florida. However, “Publix has 1,103 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina” (Publix Funding) as well. Publix super markets are always trying to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. For example, they create recycling programs, make sustainable choices of where food is purchased, use reusable grocery bags instead of plastic bags, and so much more. In addition to being more sustainable, they partner with many charities, including: Feeding America Foundation, United Way, and Greenville Habitat. These are just a few of the forty affiliates that Publix has connected with.

Social media has become an influential ground for consumers to share their opinions about a company’s brand and products. In addition, it helps in having a strong brand that produces positive relations and distinguish the brand from competitors, is a critical component for effective marketing. According to Dahlén and Lange (2009) “the quality of the product is not the evident factor when it comes to purchasing a product, the deciding factor depends on how the brand is perceived” (Para. 1). This demonstrates the importance of incorporating social media as a tool to promote brands, allow for interactions, and customer satisfaction by engaging with customers more frequently for feedbacks or reviews. Thus create an opportunity for the company to show its devotion to their customers, and initiate good reputation, which can increase sales. In other words, social media has the ability to upsurge the awareness for businesses as well as the brand.

The main competitors in the national grocery chain are Kroger, Whole Foods, IGA, and Supervalu; several regional grocery chains including BI-LO, Winn-Dixie, Ingles, Fresh Market, Sweetbay, Piggy Wiggly consolidated with warehouse and retail chains including Wal-mart, Costco, Kmart, Target, BJ’s Wholesale and Sam’s Club. Publix for 15th consecutive years has been named as one of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to work. It has never had any layoffs even though some stores have closed and new ones have opened. Each year, the company issues shares of its stock to eligible full- and part-time employees, and cash dividends earned on these shares are paid directly to employees. Publix is a highly established and successful supermarket with friendly service and an immense array of products. They offer “buy- one- get- one- free” deals which vary from week to week on several products within the store.

In addition, although it was short-lived and unsuccessful, technology gave Publix the opportunity to learn the online market. Where some say Publix decided not to continue with their online version, Publix Direct, too early, this really gives them the option to explore what went wrong, and what went right. With rapidly evolving technological advances, Publix can use what they learned to discover new possibilities.

Publix Super Market Inc., a food and drug retailer is one of the fastest growing employee-owned grocery store chains in the United States. The privately held company began 1930 in Winter Haven, Florida by George W. Jenkins. Since the company’s start, Publix has continued to grow and as of 2013, it ranked 108 on the Fortune 500 list. Likewise, Publix had revenue of 27,706.8 million and profits of 1,552.3 million. Publix’s current stock price is $30.00 per share and the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of Feb. 5, 2013 was 773, 972,000 (Publix.com). The company has stores located in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina with the majority of the stores being located in its home state of Florida. In the 83

Publix is not your quintessential grocery store, it is so much more. What is it about Publix that make it unique from all the other stores that sell groceries? What are its unique selling points that add extra value to a visit? Why are customers willing to pay more to shop there? To quote Publix President, Todd Jones, “We believe that there are three ways to differentiate: service, quality and price. You’ve got to be good at two and the best at one. We make service our number one, then quality and then price” (Jones, 2013).

The third issue for Trader Joe’s is their lack of social media presence. Trader Joe’s from their beginning has used a customer newsletter and occasional radio ads in order to promote their brand, and these advertising methods have not changed with the introduction and prevalence of social media. Many brands nowadays are seeking to gain a competitive advantage over the

Exploitability- Since Grocery Checkout is the only online grocery destination in London, they can exploit the full potential of their resources. Grocery Checkout’s

Publix is an employee-owned supermarket chain that is said to be the largest of its kind in the United States. Its operations span throughout the southeast region, with locations in Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina; with Florida having nearly half of the company’s operating base. George W Jerkins founded the corporation as an employee-owned private entity. The company has managed to create over 168,000 jobs in its numerous branches now totaling to a tune of 1098 stores. Moreover, it has invested in cooking schools and grocery distribution. The company’s turnover in the previous year, 2014, was 28.92 billion US dollars to 1.74 billion as its net profit ranking it to be the thirteenth largest private retail company in the United States (Forbes.com, 2014). Currently, the price of its stock share is around 39 US dollars per share capital. The company has managed to build a niche for itself competing with the likes of Costco, Whole Foods, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Sam’s Club and even Wal-Mart.

Social media has become an essential channel for corporations to build a two-way relationship with their customers. However, having a social media account cannot solve everything. To make the best use of social media in keeping a positive relationship with their customers, corporations ought to seek and maintain influence among their followers in social media, and participate in communications with them.

There is a need for Publix to improve the execution process of their current marketing function, so that the company generates ways to stay consistent and successful with their current competitive position. It will differentiate their offering and create more value for the company in the supermarket industry. The current marketing position at Publix states, in its online corporate marketing section that the company “seeks to align our business with the needs of our customers. Our objective is to assure competitive success by best matching our product and service offerings with the demand of our customers” (Publix Supermarket Inc., 2011). The company should readjust and align their execution around the aforementioned

In 1883 Bernard (Barney) Kroger invested 372 dollars that consisted of his life savings to open the first ‘Kroger’ grocery. That first store, located at 66 Pearl Street in downtown Cincinnati, would soon turn into the giant retail chain that consists of nearly 2,500 stores all over the country and most recently produced sales of over 76 billion dollars. Barney Kroger was revolutionary in the formation of the modern grocery, in that he was the first grocer to have his own bakery, as well as selling meat and other groceries all under one roof. Kroger was also the first to manufacture the products that he in turn sold in his own store. This was the beginning of what is today one of the largest food manufacturing companies in America.

The purpose of Pinterest, as a social media platform, is to connect users by allowing them to collectively interact within a network. For research purposes, Pinterest boards are used to brainstorm ideas and create a hub for gathering information. This information is not often simply text, but rather communicated with visuals or comics in order to engage a broad audience. For example, see the figure on the right. This style of gathering information mimics a discussion because each user feeds off the ideas that are already present. This allows the research to dabble briefly in a large number of