Publix is the American supermarket chain founded in Florida in 1930 that is employee-owned.
George W. Jenkins opened the first Publix Food Store in Winter Haven, Florida, on September 6, 1930. The original store was a 3,000-square-foot market, and the company later moved its headquarters to Lakeland in 1951. Jenkins believed employees should share in the success of the business, a philosophy that became central to Publix’s ownership structure.
Publix is privately held and owned by current and former employees and members of the Jenkins family. Its employee stock ownership plan is one reason the chain is often described as employee-owned, although that does not mean every worker directly owns an identical share. Publix is also frequently confused with other large Florida supermarket names, especially Winn-Dixie, but Winn-Dixie is a separate chain.
The company expanded from Florida across the Southeast, eventually adding Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky. Its familiar slogan is “Where Shopping Is a Pleasure.”