Publix expanding to Virginia

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arizonaguy
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Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by arizonaguy »

http://corporate.publix.com/about-publi ... o-virginia

1 store in Bristol 1 in Glen Allen. Interesting strategy as Bristol and Glen Allen are nowhere close to one another and the Richmond area (where Glen Allen is) is probably the most competitive in the state outside of Northern Virginia.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by ValuedCustomer »

That is interesting news indeed. Publix entered NC much the same way by opening a few stores widely placed over the state rather than concentrating on building a store base market by market. Also interesting that this comes closely behind Wegmans announcement of their first NC store to be built in Cary (Raleigh-Durham area) where Publix and Wegmans will go head to head for the first time. I guess they know what they are doing, as successful as they've been but wonder if the further they get from Florida the less impact they will have. Going into Richmond they must ultimately be aiming at the prestigious but very competitive DC market. I've long thought since they're in Nashville they should expand to Kentucky instead, since the Louisville and Lexington markets are only a couple of hours from there and are virtually Kroger monopolies since Winn-Dixie pulled out and left no traditional grocer as a competitor.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by klkla »

ValuedCustomer wrote:Also interesting that this comes closely behind Wegmans announcement of their first NC store to be built in Cary (Raleigh-Durham area) where Publix and Wegmans will go head to head for the first time. I guess they know what they are doing, as successful as they've been but wonder if the further they get from Florida the less impact they will have.
That will be an interesting competition. I've only been in a few Wegman's and a few Publix. I thought Wegman's was amazing. I was underwhelmed by Publix and have never really understood why they have such a loyal following.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by ValuedCustomer »

I agree Publix and Wegmans are apples and oranges. Publix is just a very good regular supermarket chain. Their stores are immaculately clean and their employees are courteous so the shopping experience is really pleasant (to co-opt their catch phrase). It is nicer than the current versions of Giant or Safeway heading into Virginia. Wegmans is a whole other level given how large and extravagant their stores are. They are both great at what they do, but they're not trying to be the same thing. Publix is where you stop after work for a few things and Wegmans is where you go on Saturday to indulge.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by veteran+ »

klkla wrote:
ValuedCustomer wrote:Also interesting that this comes closely behind Wegmans announcement of their first NC store to be built in Cary (Raleigh-Durham area) where Publix and Wegmans will go head to head for the first time. I guess they know what they are doing, as successful as they've been but wonder if the further they get from Florida the less impact they will have.
That will be an interesting competition. I've only been in a few Wegman's and a few Publix. I thought Wegman's was amazing. I was underwhelmed by Publix and have never really understood why they have such a loyal following.

Publix is struggling to be consistent with their mission statement and core values. The farther away they are from Florida (curiously so) the more "on message" they are.

For example, there are stores in Miami that you could experience and never believe they are Publix(s). Rude or indifferent employees (barely speaking english), out of stock issues, customer service issues, long lines everywhere and not "Publix clean"!!!

I could give you a list of stores to visit down there that would support the above.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by storewanderer »

Publix really underwhelmed me in Atlanta in every regard. They were a clean store and neat, that is all I can say positive. Publix was a little better in Birmingham on customer service, clean, and neat, but still pretty underwhelming.

I was in quite a few FL Publix Stores last spring and the service I received was really no different than the typical grocery store. It was not bad service by any means, it was just okay. Also I never had to wait for more than one customer ahead of me to check out so they definitely keep the front ends staffed pretty well.

Wegman's is just such a greater effort on a perimeter mix, perimeter quality, and overall atmosphere perspective than Publix, there is not much of a comparison.

The thing that surprised me most about Publix was its skimpy perimeters and generally what I perceived to be low volume stores. They were not what I expected at all, after everything I had heard...
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by veteran+ »

Were you able to visit stores in Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah, Miami Springs, Kendall, etc.?

For the most part the stores in the southwest have above average volume due to Publix saturating the market helped by a lack of competitors. There are a substantial number of stores, like the one near Dadeland Mall, that are monster volume stores (normal week is 1.5 million dollars) and upper middle class demo.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by storewanderer »

I haven't been to Miami, just Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville (didn't look at any stores in Jacksonville though, got sidetracked going to Georgia that night to look at a Kroger and some Harveys instead).

I'd like to see a perimeter in one of those higher volume Publix locations. I liked the quality of their offering, it was just so small in the locations I've been to, so few of each item were out... produce and bakery were where it was most noticeable.
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by veteran+ »

I think that fresh and perimeter are huge opportunities for Publix and I say this because my empirical experience tells me this:

1. Where there is qualitative competition (say a Whole Foods, Wild Oats {back in the days}, and a few other current and historical examples), Publix does an exemplary job with this exigent category (like the Dadeland store and another "big" store a little south on US1).

2. Where there is barely significant competition, Publix seems to get lazy (clearly an ode to the concept that competition makes the great get greater).
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Re: Publix expanding to Virginia

Post by storewanderer »

You are spot on. And Publix seems to know what competition is where and know the weaknesses of that competition, and adjust how it operates its stores accordingly. They also have a ton of different price zones, ad zones, etc.

I liked the Publix Greenwise in Tampa and also liked their cuban format store Sabor south of Orlando (but it was not nearly as interesting as the Greenwise).

I saw some unique things in some Publix Stores that I liked. One of my favorites was how they had the bagger station configured in some locations. They had the bag rack set up in such a way it was at a 45 degree angle so the bagger had to stand facing the customer, forcing the bagger to engage with the customer. I have seen some Ralphs that set it up that way too but it was at a 90 degree angle instead so the bagger could look off in the distance instead of at the customer. Publix also has a well executed sandwich program and I respect their decision to not offer bulk service deli salads but instead have 100% prepack of those items (saves a lot of labor to not mix up/unpack salads or dispense or wash dishes from that stuff).
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