Greenwise shoppers confounding Publix executives

Greenwise shoppers confounding Publix executives

BY RICHARD MULLINS

MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

Published: January 29, 2010

TAMPA - When the Publix grocery chain opened the upscale Greenwise store in South Tampa, managers expected affluent foodies, environmentalists and health-focused organic food devotees.

After opening day, those very shoppers came ready to spend - regularly gobbling up high-tier tuna filets at $30 per pound, organic vitamins at $36 per bottle, exotic Romano cheese at $42 per pound and wine at $100 to $300 per bottle.

But something else happened along the way.

Greenwise managers found that affluent shoppers also craved items of a decidedly downscale type: Hot and crispy fried chicken, Dora the Explorer birthday cakes and bubbly Coke from a soda fountain at lunch.

The only problem, the store didn't stock that kind of thing. No one expected foodies to want fried chicken.

"This is still very much a pilot project," said store manager Michael Tapia. "We're learning as we listen to what our customers want."

Customers may drive a Land Rover or Maserati to the store, but they also require Clorox and cat litter, and have a fistful of coupons for Tide.

About a year after opening the upscale grocery boutique, Publix officials opened up about lessons learned along the way, and how they are discovering a lot about the human nature of those who inhabit the wealthiest ZIP codes.

1. Upscale sells

Publix parked the Greenwise store smack in the middle of Tampa's most affluent neighborhoods, with a median household income of more than $140,000 a year.

Store managers have yet to find the upper limit of what sells.

Last December, Greenwise offered hand-picked Lucques olives from the South of France at $9.99 per pound. They sold out each day over a week.

Several hundred people regularly show up for special wine-tasting events at the store, with the line snaking out the entrance. The store's regular "Wine 101" classes regularly fill 30 allotted slots.
Gourmet prepared meals are the centerpiece of the store, and the best-seller in the case is the Quinoa salad, based on the exotic grain. Price: $6.99 per pound. A close second is the Tuna Tataki, delicately cooked fish slices. Price: $29.99 per pound.

The nutrition aisle stocks organic and exotic treatments, including joint-lubricating vitamins at more than $30 per bottle, and the store keeps a nutritionist on staff to wander the aisle answering customer's questions.

2. Downscale sells

Despite all the high-tier items, Greenwise managers learned quickly that even the affluent occasionally like to go downscale.

Almost every regular Publix store has hot fried chicken on-site for take-away meals. But Greenwise planners thought foodie customers wouldn't want something normally found in a drive-thru lane.

After a few months, Greenwise added fried chicken. "Right there up front," Tapia said, noting a cooler full of chicken smack in the middle of the store entrance next to the gourmet lasagna.

While the bakery does hand-make delicate pastries, mousses and tortes, now bakers also stock the basic Publix birthday cakes - complete with options like a purple princess castle or Spider-Man motif.

The cafe that sells high-end gelato and organic juices also added something most often seen in McDonald's or Chipotle: a self-serve soft-drink fountain.

At first, the store stocked only hard-to-find eco-friendly laundry detergent, and the medicine aisle stocked mainly holistic treatments.

"Then we heard from customers 'Where's the Tide?' 'Where's the Tylenol?'" Tapia said.

So managers went throughout the store, slipping in mainstream detergent, bleach, soaps, kitty litter, cereals and anything else customers wanted.

"I love it, love it, and I'm here probably more than I should be," said Holly Roseberry, a marketing executive in Tampa. She now shops almost exclusively at Greenwise and had a cart full of both gourmet salad and Clorox bleach wipes.

On any given week, she'll stop by the store several times for gourmet meals to take home.

"I could probably get most of the common stuff at Target, but if you just want to make one stop, this is where I go," she said.

3. Parking matters

The Greenwise store is three stories tall, with a ground-floor grocery and two floors of parking above. Though common in big Northern cities, the setup is rare in Florida.

Some customers mention the challenge of getting used to a parking deck, Tapia said. But having one floor of covered parking has a huge benefit, too.

"The minute it starts raining hard, our store fills up," Tapia said. When summer rains pour on the open parking lots at other grocery stores, customers flock to the covered parking at Greenwise. "Even when it's just hot, and people don't want to park in the sun, we get busy."

Still, it took more than a year for the store to gain city approval for more prominent parking signs showing customers how to enter the parking ramp.

4. Coupons matter

When Greenwise opened, Publix executives considered the Greenwise brand a separate project, a wholly different store. So the store didn't accept Publix-brand coupons, or honor the signature Publix sale of buy one, get one free.

That didn't go well with customers. As the economy turned south, frugality became en vogue for even affluent shoppers.

So managers revamped computer systems and cash registers. It took time, but eight months into the pilot project, the store started honoring all Publix discounts.

And because Publix policy is to honor coupons at rival stores, there was another side effect. Greenwise was a direct competitor to upscale grocers like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. That meant customers could walk in with a Whole Foods advertisement for gourmet cheese or wine and rightfully expect the same discount at Greenwise.

5. Hybrid approach

There are no formal plans for another stand-alone Greenwise store any time soon. For now, there are stores in Palm Beach Gardens, Boca Raton and Tampa.

Publix is taking much of what it learned in Tampa and is developing a new approach. For now, rather than build new stand-alone Greenwise stores, the next Greenwise will be part of a traditional, 60,000-square-foot Publix store, set to open in Naples in the first quarter of this year. The Greenwise section will have a restaurant-style seating area, plus a selection of artisan cheeses, large sushi bar, gelato and expanded section of bulk foods, coffees, teas, grains and nuts.

But a few aisles over, there will be standard Publix inventory, like Tide, fried chicken and Tylenol.

For Publix, the price of success is constant vigilance in following customer tastes.