[bandsdavis]

Originally Posted by Boomer

I like to shop at Publix, even though I have to run past the bakery section, with my eyes closed.

I like to shop at Publix because the stores are clean and bright and the employees are helpful.

But there is more to it than that -- for me -- I like to shop at Publix because I really like their business plan. The quote below is from an article in Forbes, May 28, 2015. The title of the article is "Publix, Florida's Supermarket King, Mints Another Billionaire."

The quote follows:

The multi-generational Jenkins family owns about 20% of Publix, but employees are the controlling shareholders, with an 80% stake. All staffers who have put in 1,000 work hours and a year of employment receive an additional 8.5% of their total pay in the form of Publix stock.

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I am from Cincinnati, home of Procter and Gamble. Company stock (profit-sharing) has been a big part of P&G's legacy. Employees were given the opportunity to accumulate shares of stock -- a stock that has paid dividends since the company began and has increased that dividend for the past 59 consecutive years, making it near the top of the list sometimes known as the Dividend Aristocrats.

I am not here to debate P&G's stock value. I did not work for P&G. (Probably coulda, shoulda.) But growing up and spending most of my life in Cincinnati, I have seen what that profit-sharing plan could do to help P&G employees to raise families, buy houses, educate kids, and to eventually be able to retire with a rather tidy portfolio, still paying dividends.

Anyway, I don't know if P&G is now what it once was in inspiring employee loyalty. All I know is I think profit-sharing is an excellent way to run a business. Of course, the Jenkins family are billionaires. That's fine. But that company stock they share with the employees has to be a big part of making that happen.

Publix stock is different from P&G in that Publix is not publicly traded. But it looks like a business goal is there in much the same way. The Publix plan sounds like a good one, too, employees owning the business with the billionaires.

Just imagine a country where Walmart had made company stock a benefit of employment. Not only would many more people start to understand how investing works, but think of the pride in "ownership" and the loyal commitment to the employer that can only make a business better. ROI comes in many forms......

And did you see that part in the above quote from Forbes that says Publix employees can get stock after only 1000 hours and one year. --You know.......Walmart coulda, shoulda. (sigh)

If you see a woman at Publix, running past the bakery section with her eyes closed or wandering through the parking lot looking for her white car with the Florida plates, that could be me because I am going to keep on shopping at Publix. Besides, I like their green shirts.

Boomer

Boomer, you should try their Whole Wheat Mountain Bread. It's really great!