$1)$ Please read the case carefully, $2)$ do your research about the company, its latest news, and current situation, $3)$ answer the questions $1,3,$ and $4.$

$1.$ Make a list of the key resources and capabilities Publix

has.

$3.$ Which of the resources and capabilities would also be

difficult or expensive for a competitor to imitate? In

other words, which of them is likely to lead to a sustainable

competitive advantage?

$4.$ Using stakeholder theory explained in Chapter $1,$

explain how Publix can earn above average returns in

spite of spending so much money on its employees,

on customer service, and on giving back to the

community.

How Publix Leverages Its Resources and Capabilities

to Create a Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Headquartered in Lakeland, Florida, Publix Super Markets,

Inc., operates supermarkets in Florida, Georgia, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Wisconsin, and

Tennessee. In addition to grocery products, dairy, deli,

and health$-$care products, the company also has a pharmacy and

sells floral products. Publix manages dairy and deli plants,

and has a number of distribution centers and manufacturing

facilities located within convenient range of most of its supermarkets.

With revenue of nearly $$45$ billion, the company has

$230,000$ employees, and continues to grow.

Unlike other supermarket chains in the United States,

Publix is employee owned. The company also treats its

employees extraordinarily well. In fact, as of $2022,$ Publix has

claimed a place on Fortune magazine$$s Best Companies to

Work For list for $25$ straight years. Only four companies have

done that. Publix hires young people, identifies the ones with

the most talent, and pours money into training employees so

that they are genuine experts on products. Employees are not

unionized, and they don$$t need to be$,$ because they are already

getting the same sort of compensation and benefits that they

would get from a union contract. In one recent example,

Publix began offering paid parental leave to employees starting

in $2022.$

One thing Publix offers that very few companies can offer

is a career. People are promoted from within the company.

Many top managers started as grocery baggers$90$ percent

of current managers started on the supermarket floor. After

a year of employment, employees receive shares of stock in

Publix that can only be traded within the company. $$Just like

a startup where workers are given equity, the model entices

people to stay.$$ This kind of employment pattern is rare in

retail. Turnover is very high in other retail companies, and

was especially a problem during the pandemic. $$In December

$2021$ some $786,000$ retail employees quit$$a record in an

industry already plagued by high turnover.$$ In retail, having

a well$-$trained workforce that stays is a huge advantage.

Customers tend to be very loyal to Publix, and might best

be referred to as $$fans$$ of the company. $$Customers enjoy

shopping at Publix in large part because employees seem to

actually enjoy working there.$$ Deli sandwiches are among the

favorites of customers, and they line up for sub sandwiches

around lunch time. If customers get anywhere near a Publix

employee, they are guaranteed to be greeted cheerfully. If

a product rings through the cash register at a price that is

different from what it says on the shelf, the product is free.

In $2020,$ Publix launched two initiatives for its customers$$a

personalized membership program called Club Publix and

an Instacart Meals app that gives customers online ordering

combined with delivery or pickup of made$-$to$-$order food.

Publix pharmacies provide customers with free prescriptions

for several oral antibiotics and maintenance medicines for

diabetes and high blood pressure, having filled its $100$ millionth

free prescription in $2021.$ Even with the additional cost

of all the extra service Publix provides to customers, its operating

margins are higher than both Kroger and Walmart.

Publix is also a great corporate citizen. For example, in

April $2020,$ Publix launched a new initiative to help farmers

that were being hurt by the COVID$-19$ pandemic. The company bought produce and milk from farmers most affected, and

then donated it to food banks to help people throughout its

operating area who had likewise been hurt by the pandemic.

In addition, Publix donated millions of dollars to the Feeding

America foodbanks.

In spite of its long record of success, Publix refuses to become

too comfortable. In $2018,$ in response to the trend toward

healthier foods, Publix opened a concept store in Tallahassee,

Florida, called GreenWise Markets, and announced its intention

to open more throughout the southeastern United States.

GreenWise specializes in organic and healthy foods. The

Publix name is not seen on the signage outside the store or

anywhere in the store. The product mix is unique$$the only

overlap is that some of the GreenWise products are also offered

in Publix supermarkets $($but no Publix brand products are

offered in GreenWise$).$ GreenWise Mar