Does anyone have a Publix Supermarket in there town?

[Dolic]

^^^^I don't know many markets in the Knoxville area that Publix could go in and not go up directly against Food City.

Perhaps Farragut because it is growing and Food City's only store there is the old Bi-Lo. However that store is a lame duck because of the new Kroger next to it and the Campbell Station extension.

[WOWAddict]

Originally Posted by Trevor92

Knoxville is actually a market where in 2007, Kroger had the most grocery sales, followed by Wal-Mart, and Food City was in third, but all were separted by about 2% in gross sales. There's also a few Ingles, Food Lions, and a couple more. A Publix should effect them all, perhaps Wal-Mart less than the others. So if Publix is talking with Food City specifically, it's probably a more strategic, trying to avoid each other's neighborhood's talks rather than hostile talks. Food City and Publix are actually very similar models of grocery stores. Publix is much larger with almost 1,000 stores compared to Food City's just over 100.

Food City is also a privated held family and employee owned grocery store based on the Tennessee/Virginia border. But a Publix expansion that results in market share and store loss from Food City, would indeed result in a net loss of jobs in Knoxville and the rest of East Tennessee. While the overall number of jobs working in grocery stores would probably not change, Food City buys the bulk of its produce and other 'generic' brands (that aren't repackaged national brands) locally in East Tennessee from farmers and local retailers. Misty Mountain Spring Water, Kern's Bread, Terry's Snacks, Kay's Ice Cream, and Lay Meats, are several exclusive Food City brands from local companies in Northeast Tennesse. Most of these companies went out of business in the past, and restarted because of the success of Food City. Food City is local to East Tennessee in more ways then just corporate headquarters. But Food City's local connection including distribution points should allow them to keep prices lower while continuing to advertise as the local alternative, and I would be surprised if Food City were hurt as much as other chains in the Knoxville area by a possible Publix expansion.

True did not think of local suppliers. But any job loss would be absorbed by new suppliers or those companies would negotiate to supply Publix, if the brands are popular. It is not like Publix has just certain brands and sends them to all stores. Sure there are the national brand that even Food City must carry. But there are whole sections of aisles specific to the local community. The difference is so great from county to county let alone state to state. While organic is popular in my area, in Miami you get huge Spanish sections.

Sure some would be lost in the short term but in the long run a Publix expansion would be a great thing for Knoxville bringing much more jobs than it takes. The Customer Service aspect of Publix is what spreads its growth and I think that is why it is so popular.

Wow I sound like a commercial sorry.

[Trevor92]

Originally Posted by WOWAddict

True did not think of local suppliers. But any job loss would be absorbed by new suppliers or those companies would negotiate to supply Publix, if the brands are popular. It is not like Publix has just certain brands and sends them to all stores. Sure there are the national brand that even Food City must carry. But there are whole sections of aisles specific to the local community. The difference is so great from county to county let alone state to state. While organic is popular in my area, in Miami you get huge Spanish sections.

Most grocery stores customize their in-store selection to the local customer base in terms of what they carry and how much shelf room each item gets. But the end result of a Publix expansion to any area would most likely result in increased orders to the current Publix suppliers and subsequent transportation to the area, while the suppliers of Kroger, Food City, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, etc are able to sell less. I would bet most of those suppliers are based in Florida near Publix headquarters, or near their closest distribution center in Lawrenceville, GA. It's just cheaper and more profitable to do that than to try to micro-manage new suppliers for every market for a wide variety of items.

Originally Posted by WOWAddict

Sure some would be lost in the short term but in the long run a Publix expansion would be a great thing for Knoxville bringing much more jobs than it takes. The Customer Service aspect of Publix is what spreads its growth and I think that is why it is so popular.

The brands I mentioned before and perhaps others are exclusive and can only be sold at Food City. Considering some of them were out of business for a period of time, Food City probably has an investment stake in some of those companies now, including Knoxville-based Kay's Ice Cream and Lenoir City-based Lay's Lunch meats. Publix may serve a Knoxville economy well and donate to the community, perhaps much better than Kroger, Wal-Mart, Food Lion, or Ingles. But it would be a hefty promise to say that the average Publix Supermarket would serve the local economy or community better than the average East Tennessee based Food City Supermarket. But then again, as proven by Wal-Mart, a lot of people don't care about any of that. It's a free market and Publix may find a niche in Knoxville. But in this economy, it would be quite a risk for Publix to enter a new market that's already saturated with many grocery competitors, as a customer-service centered supermarket.

Because of the similarities between Food City and Publix, I believe they will choose not to directly compete with each other and I really don't know why Publix would be 'talking' with Food City if anything else were the case. Either one could expand, or both, and really hurt the other chain because they'll be fighting for the same type of customers. They may even be interested in merging at some point in the future. But I believe Food City will concentrate on expanding to Roanoke, VA where they just opened their first store, rather than Chattanooga or Nashville, and Publix will look to stay out of Food City controlled areas as well unless they're able to find specific locations where they'll be directly affecting Kroger or another 'big-box' chain that Publix competes with on a larger scale.

[tntornadox]

Originally Posted by Trevor92

Because of the similarities between Food City and Publix, I believe they will choose not to directly compete with each other and I really don't know why Publix would be 'talking' with Food City if anything else were the case. Either one could expand, or both, and really hurt the other chain because they'll be fighting for the same type of customers. They may even be interested in merging at some point in the future.

Bingo...

My source, who is tuned into the upper management at KVAT tells me they have been in secret talks for almost a year now- the only thing holding the deal up is the fact that Publix isn't ready to expand into Kentucky and Virginia, which it would do by default with a possible merger with KVAT (Food City), and they don't wish to sell just the Tennessee stores.

[tntornadox]

Bingo...
I have heard that they have been in secret talks for almost a year now- the only thing holding the deal up is the fact that Publix isn't ready to expand into Kentucky and Virginia, which it would do by default with a possible merger with KVAT (Food City), and they don't wish to sell just the Tennessee stores.