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Published: October 6, 2007
TAMPA - Publix Super Markets' future growth includes its restaurant and organic grocery ventures, company President Ed Crenshaw said Friday.
Crenshaw said the company's casual restaurant chain called Crispers is likely to become a larger presence, both in the number of locations and in the availability of its prepackaged products at Publix grocery stores.
'It makes sense where the brand is established,' he said. 'People in Lakeland and Tampa recognize it.'
Publix assumed complete ownership of Crispers in the first quarter of 2007. Although two Brevard County locations closed this week, Crenshaw said the 40-restaurant chain is part of Publix's long-term growth plan.
'Our objective is to grow that business, not shrink it,' said Crenshaw, who in March will take over as chief executive of the growing Lakeland-based chain of 914 grocery stores in five southeastern states.
Also, Crenshaw was pleased with another venture - last week's Palm Beach Gardens' debut of Publix's GreenWise Market. A Tampa version of the natural and organic market is one of six total stores planned so far. Many customers Crenshaw met noticed a key Publix strategy: the integration of conventional groceries and produce with organic products, he said.
'That was part of our game plan from the beginning,' he said of the new store developed over the last three years.
Crenshaw's comments came before a rare public appearance Friday in Tampa at the fall Florida Network of Executive Women gathering at the Tampa Marriott Waterside. Making the event more intriguing was one of the speakers joining Crenshaw, the top boss at another Bay area grocer: Sweetbay Supermarket Chief Executive Officer Shelley Broader.
The pair didn't discuss business details while on the dais, though both shared leadership advice and humorous stories of failed attempts working checkout at their respective stores. The local leaders were joined by top executives from Wal-Mart Stores and soup maker Campbell USA at the event targeting women in retail-related businesses.
In an interview before the luncheon, Broader said she and Sweetbay's parent company Delhaize Group, finally are focused on growing a company that's been in transition for three years. Last month, the west Florida chain retired its last Kash n' Karry store.
Her leadership during that transition of the more than 100 Sweetbay stores led to Broader being named Retailer of the Year by Grocery Retailer magazine this week.
Now, Sweetbay's top priority is growth, Broader said. That includes increasing same-store sales, opening between four and eight new stores a year, and increasing the company footprint by acquiring closed stores from other chains.
Sweetbay, at 13 percent, currently ranks third in grocery market share in the Tampa Bay area, according to supermarket trade journal The Shelby Report. Publix is first, with 38 percent, and Wal-Mart Supercenter ranks second, at 22 percent.
Broader said same-store sales are going to be watched more closely than market share - a key benchmark watched by outsiders and competitors. She said because Florida's population growth translates to the constant addition of new stores, market share results are diluted.
'You can grow sales and have flat or negative market share growth,' she said. Sweetbay will add about four stores a year. That number will increase to seven or eight a few years from now, she said.
During the leadership discussion, both Crenshaw and Broader showed great candor in acknowledging how risky career decisions were responsible for their professional success.
Broader's involved a jump from the world of investment banking into the supermarket business. While undergoing corporate training at a local store, a former investment client was mortified to see her working as a cashier. She was embarrassed, but realized she needed to surround herself with cashiers and others who excelled so she could understand and succeed in a new industry.
'The only way to be noticed is to surround yourself and learn from people who are promotable,' she said.
Crenshaw shared how in 1979 he had an opportunity to work with his father, outside of the Publix organization. Though Publix founder George Jenkins, also a relative, encouraged Crenshaw to go, he opted to stay.
'I would never be happy working with someone or something other than Publix, because of what it stood for ... It was the smartest thing I ever did,' he said.
TAMPA BAY GROCERS
Publix Super Markets
•Ownership: Publix Super Markets of Lakeland. Stock sold to family of founder George Jenkins and company employees.
•Florida stores: 655
•Market share Florida: 39.71 percent
•Tampa Bay area stores: 94
•Market share Tampa Bay area: 37.90 percent
Wal-Mart Supercenters
•Ownership: Publicly traded Wal-Mart Stores. Bentonville, Ark.
•Florida stores: 151
•Market share Florida: 24.96 percent
•Tampa Bay area stores: 17
•Market share Tampa Bay area: 21.55 percent
Sweetbay Supermarket
•Ownership: Publicly traded Delhaize Group of Belgium. Sweetbay headquarters in Tampa.
•Florida stores: 106
•Market share Florida: 2.90 percent
•Tampa Bay area stores: 64
•Market share Tampa Bay area: 13.05 percent
* Tampa Bay market includes Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas Counties. Market share for October, 2007
Source: individual companies, The Shelby Report trade publication
Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at mshedden@tampatrib.com or (813)259-7365.
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