It was a year of celebration, growth and giving. Check out the 85 things we loved most from this year, and see if yours made the list!
- Our 85th anniversary
- All six of Mr. George’s lessons
- The principle that connected the lessons — Do the Right Thing
- Publix Serves day
- Customer prize patrol
- Be There day
- Customer royalty events
- Videos on corporate.publix.com
- Quarterly dividend payments
A Great Place to Work
- For the 18th consecutive year, Publix made Fortune’s list of 100 Best Companies to Work For
- Publix was listed as one of Fortune and the Great Place to Work Institute’s 20 Best Workplaces in Retail
- One of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies
- One of America’s Best Employers by Forbes and
- One of the Most Reputable Companies in the U.S. by Reputation Institute
- Publix’s manufacturing facilities received the 2015 Quality Achievement Award as the Manufacturer/Distributor of the Year from the Safe Quality Foods Institute
- Associates shared awesome videos during the Great Place to Work Contest
Publix Charities
- Publix Charities’ $4 million gift to Habitat for Humanity
- Publix Charities’ $1.5 million donation to Feeding America
- Feeding America named Publix as an inaugural Visionary Partner
Special Recognition
- District Manager Kris Jonczyk winning the OEO Madness primary bracket
- Special Olympics Florida naming Publix its inaugural Eunice Kennedy Shriver Award recipient
Perks
- We got a few new free perks just for working here like annual, confidential health screenings
- An interactive Life. Inspired. website
- Associate announcements on PASSport
- The ability to view company cars for sale on www.publix.org
- New Personal Plans discount Personal Plans
- More safety shoe discount offerings on www.publix.org
- Positions Leading to Management and Registration of Interest on PASSport
Social Media
- We enhanced our social media presence with new Instagram and Pinterest pages, and drew customer attention with these popular posts
- Most retweets on a Twitter post – 475
- Most favorites on a Twitter post – 448
- Most liked Facebook post – 58,996
- Most commented on Facebook post – 2,431
- Engagement with 186,000 followers on Twitter and
- 2.4 million fans on our Facebook page — and counting!
Product Debuts
- Fresh Seafood Cook-in-Bag Dinners debuted with incredible convenience and taste, while
- Publix Bakery Cheesecake Dessert Cups
- Publix Bakery Vanilla Cookies and Cream Dessert Cups
- Publix Bakery Dessert Shots
- Publix Bakery Cheesecake Almond Cones
- Publix Premium Blended Greek Yogurt
- Publix Premium Mocha Mud Pie Ice Cream
- Publix Premium White Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream and
- Publix GreenWise Salted Caramel Organic Ice Cream satisfied our sweet tooth
- Aprons debuted new recipes like Asiago Chicken Pasta
New Programs and Resources
- Innovative and helpful programs and resources like shelf tags with organic and green leaf icons
- Beer style icons
- Build Your Own BOGO
- Addition of bakery cakes to Online Easy Ordering and
- Tracking your volunteer hours on PASSport were introduced
Campaigns and Sustainability
- We raised more than $3.8 million for Special Olympics
- More than $6 million for March of Dimes
- More than $3.9 million for Children’s Miracle Network and
- Are projected to raise $34 million for United Way
- We also support community hunger initiatives through Food For Sharing and Food For All
- Publishing our 2014 Social and Environmental Stewardship Summary
- We hit the 4 billion plastic and paper bags saved mark
Associate Statistics
- 15,841 associates received service awards for reaching a milestone anniversary
- 7,795 part-time retail associates received full-time positions
- 2,580 retail managers received promotions
- We grew from 173,789 associates on Nov. 1, 2014, to 179,575 associates on Nov. 1, 2015
- 1,077 store managers celebrated today and helped build tomorrow at the Retail Operations Conference
The Publix Family
- Associates donated clothes, furniture and much more to help their co-workers through the hardship caused by this year’s flooding in South Carolina
Recognition
- Decorator Donna Barley, #1007, Cape Coral, Florida, was crowned champion at the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association’s (IDDBA) Cake Decorating Challenge
- Truck Drivers Barry Fisher and Tony Schmidt were each selected as a Florida Trucking Association driver of the month
- Truck Driver Keven Anderson was named a champion by the Florida Trucking Association
- Publix Premium Black Swamp Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream won third place at the International Dairy Foods Association’s Innovative Ice Cream Flavor Competition
- Both Publix Bakery Dutch Apple Pie and Mango Key Lime Pie took home blue ribbons at the American Pie Council’s National Pie Championships
Promotions
- Announcing Chris Litz’s promotion to Vice President of Fresh Product Business Development
- Kris Jonczyk’s promotion to Atlanta Division Regional Director
- Tim Redding’s promotion to Miami Division Regional Director and
- Jim Sheppard’s promotion to Regional Director of Jacksonville Division’s new region
And that’s not all
- We reached more than 1,110 open stores
- Kids from around our company attended Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
- Publix sponsored dozens of runs and walks
- New merchandise was added to the Publix Company Store
- We learned a lot about our company history
- Managers drew merchandising inspiration from The Showcase
- More than 16,000 associates got a free flu shot
- Summer interns joined the Publix family
- Seasonal associates helped us get through the busy seasons
- Publix’s presence in the Charlotte Division continued to grow
- Exceptional associates made a difference in the lives of our customers, and we shared some of their stories on PASSport and in Publix News
- Military personnel received 10 percent off on Veteran’s Day
Celebrated Mr. George
- But most importantly, we celebrated Mr. George’s life and what he found most essential to our company’s success
Thanks for a great year, Publix associates. Let’s make sure there’s even more to love about 2016!
