Publix Comps Slide Politely For Fifth Straight Quarter

LAKELAND, Fla.—Publix said comparable store sales fell 0.6% in its third quarter, the fifth straight quarter of slowing comps, in what people who follow the chain described as the most courteous decline in American grocery. Total sales rose 1% to $15.5 billion in the quarter ended Sept. 26, Grocery Dive reported.

The company pointed to drug-price cuts under the Inflation Reduction Act and to shifts in consumer behavior. Chief executive Kevin Murphy said "many of our customers are feeling the effects of a challenging economy." Net earnings were about $1.1 billion, down less than 10% from a year earlier.

"Other chains crash. Publix eases down one step and holds the door," said Lorna Teague, a fictional grocery analyst in Tampa. "You could set a sub on this chart and it would not tip over."

many of our customers are feeling the effects of a challenging economy.

The chain opened 23 stores, remodeled 78 and closed 12 during the quarter. Its stock price moved from $19.60 to $18.70, a change several fictional associates were said to have taken personally before returning, without comment, to bagging.

Publix opened its 10th Kentucky store in early October. I visited one Monday. The deli line was 11 people deep and nobody in it was complaining, which is how you know a shopper is worried. A sheet cake (bakery, by the flowers) read Congratulations, and nothing else.

Page 38 of my Ledger, written smaller now: Nov. 3, Publix, Kentucky. A tin of peppermint bark (seasonal, endcap 4) beside a stack of sunscreen. Neither on sale. Both waiting, hon. Two pages left.

At press time the comps were still sliding, at a pace a fictional Lakeland shopper described as slow enough to finish your sub.

Marjorie Pell has worked or covered American stores for 40 years and still knows where the paper towels are. More from Marjorie Pell ›

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Terms in this story: Endcap