{"id":62304,"date":"2025-08-04T07:25:42","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T05:25:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/?p=62304"},"modified":"2025-08-05T21:52:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T19:52:32","slug":"usa-perche-publix-e-un-fenomeno-unico-al-mondo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/usa-perche-publix-e-un-fenomeno-unico-al-mondo\/","title":{"rendered":"USA : perch\u00e8 Publix \u00e8 un fenomeno unico al mondo"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Redatto il 5 novembre 2022, aggiornato il 4 agosto 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

Publix \u00e8 citata ben due volte come mio modello nel libro Le ossa dei Caprotti<\/strong>. L’idea di condividere la propriet\u00e0 di Esselunga<\/strong> con i dipendenti mi piaceva, avrei voluto provare ad applicarla.
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George Jenkins,<\/strong> che aveva iniziato a lavorare come addetto nel negozio del padre e poi, nel 1925 , a 17 anni,\u00a0 in un negozio\u00a0 Piggly Wiggly, <\/strong>nel 1930 fondava la Publix<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

In quell’anno veniva aperto, da<\/a> Michael Cullen<\/strong>, a long Island, nello stato di New York, il primo supermercato self- service,<\/strong> con l’insegna King Kullen<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

La catena Piggly Wiggly<\/strong> afferma di essere stata la prima con\u00a0 self- service grocery stores<\/strong>, operante negli USA, nel 1916<\/a> ma il Food Marketing Institute<\/strong> di Chicago ha\u00a0 stabilito che la prima catena di supermercati<\/strong> \u00e8 stata quella di Cullen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In effetti se i negozi self service esistevano gi\u00e0 nei primi del ‘900,\u00a0 i supermercati<\/strong>, con i reparti dei freschi<\/strong> come quelli che conosciamo oggi ed un marketing “evoluto” si svilupparono negli Stati Uniti tra il 1920 ed il 1930. <\/a><\/p>\n

E il primo\u00a0 King Cullen<\/strong> era quello che rispondeva meglio a tutti i requisiti, stabiliti dall’FMI<\/strong>, massima autorit\u00e0 nel cibo e nella distribuzione degli USA<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quando Publix<\/strong> f\u00f9 fondata il suo primo punto vendita\u00a0 non era ancora un supermercato ma un grocery store (punto di vendita che vende cibo confezionato ).[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”62306″ img_size=”full”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Jenkins<\/strong> ebbe due suoi grocery stores \u00a0prima di aprire l’8 novembre 1940 il\u00a0 suo primo “<\/strong> Publix Super Market<\/strong><\/a>“.<\/p>\n

Nell’articolo sotto trovate la domanda : come mai Publix<\/strong> \u00e8 andata cos\u00ec bene ? (Why has Publix<\/strong> done so well? ).<\/p>\n

Risposta : ha una forte e durevole cultura costruita in parte sulla propriet\u00e0 delle azioni<\/strong> (It has a strong and durable corporate culture built in part on share ownership). La Publix<\/strong> si distingue infatti da sempre, da tutte le altre catene americane ma anche europee, per il fatto che \u00e8 interamente posseduta dalla maggioranza dei suoi 225’000 dipendenti (*)<\/strong>, che gestiscono pi\u00f9 di 1300 punti di vendita.<\/p>\n

Bisogna per\u00f2 aggiungere che questa cultura\u00a0 permette a Publix di avere<\/strong> margini netti che sono dalle 3 alle 4 volte superiori a quelli delle catene concorrenti. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Il che non \u00e8 assolutamente banale: se fidelizzi chi lavora per te, ne beneficia la gestione (es. avrai meno scarti di altre catene, che nel fresco \u00e8 fondamentale o meno furti… ) ed i clienti che sono pi\u00f9 contenti di fare la spesa nei “tuoi” supermercati perch\u00e8 il personale \u00e8 pi\u00f9 gentile\u00a0 che in altre catene.<\/p>\n

La rivista online Barron’s parla di capitalismo “progressivo”, una storia di successo, dove chi si arricchisce sono i dipendenti, non degli investitori che gi\u00e0 stanno bene.<\/p>\n

Per questo motivo – il coinvolgimento totale dei collaboratori –\u00a0 Publix<\/strong> era un modello per me, quando lavoravo per Esselunga<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

(*) il loro numero \u00e8 salito a 250’000 nel frattempo.<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_single_image image=”68257″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]Employee-Owned Publix Offers a Lesson for Other Supermarket Chains<\/a><\/p>\n

By<\/p>\n

Andrew Bary<\/a><\/p>\n

Jan. 21, 2022 3:30 am ET<\/p>\n

Publix operates about 1,300 stores<\/strong>, most of them in Florida<\/strong>, including this one in Stuart.<\/p>\n

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Supermarkets are a notoriously difficult business: fierce competition, low margins, and cost pressures.<\/p>\n

One chain that stands above the rest is Publix Super Markets<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Florida grocer has net margins (net income divided by sales) of 7% to 8%. Compare that with margins of just 2% for the two biggest grocery chains,\u00a0Kroger\u00a0<\/a>(ticker: KR) and\u00a0Albertsons\u00a0<\/a>(ACI).<\/strong> And Publix earned $2.6 billion in the first nine months of 2021, more than Kroger\u2019s $2.1 billion, despite generating a third of Kroger\u2019s sales.<\/p>\n

Already tempted to buy some Publix stock? You can\u2019t\u2014unless you work there. Publix is owned by employees, board members, and the founding Jenkins family. Its shares do not trade publicly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The private company valued itself in November at about $45 billion in a quarterly assessment of its shares. Publix doesn\u2019t disclose how much stock the average employee owns. But\u00a0Barron\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0estimates the figure at more than $150,000 in stock, adjusting for roughly $9 billion reportedly held by the Jenkins family. Many longtime staff members are millionaires.<\/p>\n

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat,\u00a0recently accused<\/a>\u00a0Publix, Albertsons, and Kroger of \u201cearning massive profits while pushing grocery cost increases onto consumers.\u201d Yet arguably, Publix should be garnering praise from the senator. It\u2019s progressive capitalism at its best\u2014a success story where workers, not wealthy investors, are winners.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1930, Publix operates about 1,300 stores, more than 800 of them in Florida. It\u2019s investing to expand its business in the Southeast rather than buying back stock, except from employees who want liquidity.<\/p>\n

Why has Publix done so well? It has a strong and durable corporate culture built in part on share ownership. About 205,000 of the company\u2019s 225,000 employees own stock, which is granted annually to staff, who can also purchase shares from the company.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Publix did not respond to requests from\u00a0Barron\u2019s<\/em>\u00a0to comment.<\/p>\n

The stock grants help differentiate Publix, which isn\u2019t unionized, from other retailers, says David Livingston of DJL Research, an industry consultant based in Hawaii. \u201cTheir wages might be lower than their unionized competitors, but employees know they come out ahead in the long run due to stock bonuses,\u201d<\/strong> he says.<\/p>\n

Publix dominates Florida\u2019s supermarket business. Albertsons has no stores in the state, and Kroger has few. Kroger rolled out grocery e-commerce in certain areas in 2021. About the only major remaining supermarket rival is Winn-Dixie.<\/p>\n

Publix does have to contend with\u00a0Walmart\u00a0<\/a>(WMT),\u00a0Target\u00a0<\/a>(TGT), and\u00a0Costco Wholesale\u00a0<\/a>(COST).<\/p>\n

Livingston says that part of Publix\u2019s success is owed to its strong balance sheet as well as its ownership of considerable real estate, including all of its distribution centers and manufacturing facilities. Publix doesn\u2019t do a lot of home deliveries, Livingston notes. \u201cBecause they run great stores, people enjoy going to them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Top management has long experience with the company. Its CEO, Todd Jones, has been with Publix for 41 years, having started as a store clerk. The 59-year-old, who has a reputation as a workaholic, is paid modestly by CEO standards. He earned $3.6 million in 2020, against $22.4 million for Kroger boss Rodney McMullen.<\/p>\n

Jones is the first CEO not to be a member of the Jenkins family. The family owns an estimated 20% stake in Publix, and its wealth is estimated at $8.8 billion, based on the latest Forbes magazine tally.<\/p>\n

Publix was founded in 1930 by George Jenkins when he was 23. In 1940, he mortgaged a Florida orange grove to open his dream store, which had such amenities as air conditioning, automatic doors, frozen-food cases, and terrazzo floors, which were rare in the industry at the time.<\/p>\n

Jenkins installed scales in the front of stores so customers could weigh themselves\u2014a popular feature when few had scales at home. By the early 1960s, Publix operated 100 stores, and by 1978, it had about $2 billion in sales and $32 million in profits.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s history isn\u2019t all rosy. In 2000, it settled a lawsuit for $10 million alleging that it discriminated against Black employees in promotions.<\/p>\n

The largest employee-owned company in the U.S., Publix has about 690 million shares outstanding. Its quarterly dividend is 37 cents a share, resulting in $1 billion of annual payments to shareholders.<\/p>\n

The company sets the stock price quarterly and requires employees to sell shares back to the company if they want liquidity. The most recent price set on Nov. 1 was $66.40 a share, up from $57.95 on Nov. 1, 2020, and $47.10 on Nov. 1, 2019.<\/p>\n

The current stock price values Publix at less than 13 times 2020 earnings and a similar valuation on likely 2021 profits. That\u2019s in line with the price\/earnings ratio for Kroger.<\/p>\n

If Publix were a public company, it would probably trade at a premium to Kroger.<\/strong> It has a strong balance sheet\u2014virtually no debt, $2 billion of cash, and more than $13 billion in investments\u2014and it has more-promising prospects, given its dominance in fast-growing Florida.<\/p>\n

Publix earned an adjusted $3.7 billion in 2020, when sales surged almost 18%, to $44.9 billion<\/strong>, as the pandemic lifted revenue at all grocers. Earnings per share rose to $5.27 from $3.67 in 2019.<\/p>\n

Through the first nine months of 2021, sales rose 5%, to $35.4 billion, while earnings per share excluding changes in the value of the company\u2019s equity portfolio were down 3%, to $3.81. Sales in 2021 may have hit $47 billion, up 38% over the past five years, or nearly 7% annually.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s impressive for the highly competitive grocery business. How Publix does business differently ought to give managers\u2014and investors\u2014plenty to ponder.<\/p>\n

Nel 2021 Publix<\/strong> era 7 \u00b0 nella top ten dei supermercati americani.<\/a><\/p>\n

Nel 2022<\/strong> la situazione \u00e8 meno rosea, soprattutto per quanto riguarda i margini : ” Le vendite totali per i primi nove mesi del 2022 si sono chiuse a $ 40 miliardi per un incremento del 10,7% anno su anno. Nel frattempo, gli utili netti di Publix<\/strong> per il terzo trimestre sono scesi del 54%, passando da 856,9 milioni di dollari nel 2021 a 394,1 milioni di dollari”<\/a> ma :<\/p>\n