Publix

The Publix guarantee to never knowingly disappoint customers is legendary in the industry. The purpose of the guarantee remains to satisfy the customer. The ongoing mission of Publix Super Markets is to operate the best stores possible. We believe the key to that is dedicated and responsible employees, called associates. Publix is dedicated to the dignity, value and employment security of its associates. We treat each other as family and treat our company as a prized possession because we own it. Key Dates: Jenkins closes his first two stores and opens the first Publix supermarket. Publix records it first million-dollar profit; the company opens a 125,000-square-foot warehouse and headquarters in Lakeland, Florida. Publix is named a Fortune 500 company; eight women bring a class-action suit against Publix. Publix Super Markets Inc. stands as one of the top seven chains of supermarkets in the United States as measured by sales volume and number of stores. It is the largest employee-owned supermarket; its current and former employees own about 85 percent of the business. The rest of the company is owned by its officers and directors, many of whom are members of the Jenkins family. Most of the chain's more than 600 stores are in Florida, but the company also does business in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Jenkins was one of the first in the grocery business to stress customer service and high-quality goods. While most of his competitors focused on price and productivity, the signs on the front of the Publix store read, 'Where shopping is a pleasure,' reflecting the firm's early belief in the importance of customer satisfaction. Jenkins also stressed employee satisfaction, promoting almost entirely from within, and giving his workers a large amount of control over the section of the store in which they worked. By 1940, Jenkins had an additional 18 Publix stores, some of which he acquired from the small All-American chain in 1939. In 1940, Jenkins also opened his first supermarket, an 11,000-square-foot space with a paved parking lot, air conditioning, wide aisles, electric doors, and frozen-food cases. The aesthetics and features of Jenkins's superstore were unusual for American grocery stores during the Depression, reflecting the founder's attempt to make shopping an enjoyable experience. By 1950, 22 Publix supermarkets had been opened, with total chain sales of $12.1 million. In 1949, R. William Schroter stepped in to head up Publix's own one-person advertising department, employing local freelancers. The department eventually grew into the W.M. Zemp & Associates advertising firm in St. Petersburg. Publix advertised heavily in newspapers, but avoided the weekly circulars used by many supermarkets. In the early 1950s, Publix began giving out S & H Green Stamps, handing shoppers a fixed number of stamps per dollar spent, which they could then redeem for discounted merchandise. The resulting sales increase far exceeded the cost of the stamp program, and Publix quickly became the largest vendor of S & H stamps in the country. Jenkins liked the stamps because he believed that they encouraged store loyalty as well as thrifty habits. In the late 1950s, Publix began to sell stock to its employees. Publix management kept a careful eye on lifestyle trends. By 1966, as more women began to work and more people remained single, stores shifted from one small frozen-food display case to large, upright cases with glass doors. Frozen-food sales continued to grow, and Publix added more freezers and devoted more attention to their stocking, keeping brand name products together rather than sorting by food type. The firm identified and responded to food trends such as yogurt and frozen pizza earlier than most of its rivals. In setting up shelves, dairy cases, and freezers, it was careful to keep ease of shopping its top priority, while also displaying high-margin items at eye level and making certain that products were arranged in a