Another sign the Southeast consumer is hurtin’

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on November 2, 2009 at 12:22 pm

Grocery chain Publix, which runs 1,000 stores around the region, earned $255 million during the third quarter, up from $202 million a year ago. But same-store sales fell 4.7 percent versus a drop of ‘just’ 2.7 percent in the first half of this year.

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Tags: consumer spending, earnings reports, grocery stores, Publix Super Markets Inc., retail  

Publix trimming SKUs

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on September 1, 2009 at 7:20 am

Publix CEO Ed Crenshaw says his team will continue to selectively take off their shelves items that aren’t selling enough.

“A store manager recently told me that the No. 1 complaint from customers isn’t high prices or lack of front-end service, it’s discontinued items. We know we’ll upset customers when we discontinue, so we don’t do this lightly. We put a lot of thought into assortment correction.”

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Tags: Ed Crenshaw, grocery stores, Publix Super Markets Inc., retail  

Publix profits down 6%

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on May 1, 2009 at 11:33 am

The regional supermarket chain reported a 2.8 percent drop in first-quarter same-store sales and saw profits fall 6.3 percent.

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Tags: earnings reports, grocery stores, Publix Super Markets Inc., retail  

Bank of Nashville now in Publix ATM network

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on April 28, 2009 at 12:39 am

The bank’s parent, Synovus Financial, recently joined Publix’s extensive list of Presto! members.

Customers of banks affiliated with Synovus can now access more than 1,000 ATMs, free of charge, across Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida and Tennessee. Presto! is owned by the Publix grocery store chain, which has a geographic footprint consistent with locations of Synovus banks.

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Tags: ATMs, automated teller machines, banking, grocery stores, Publix Super Markets Inc., retail, Synovus Financial Corp., The Bank of Nashville  

Why Publix is winning

By Geert De Lombaerde Posted on April 23, 2009 at 7:35 am

The Wall Street Journal profiles the growth of the supermarket chain during the recession.

Publix has started programs to suggest meal plans to help customers stay within a budget. It also has avoided cutting back staff — which has resulted in faster service times than other grocery stores at the bakery, deli and checkout, key factors to customer satisfaction.

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Tags: grocery stores, Publix Super Markets Inc., retail, retail real estate