Dive Brief:
- Publix Super Markets said its profit rose 6.8% in the most recent quarter to $384.2 million.
- The privately held grocer, which operates 1,090 stores in the southeastern U.S., said same-store sales rose 5% in the quarter - well above the level of growth seen by rival retailers.
- The earning report comes amid a frenzy of publicity for the chain related to one of its bag boys, college student Mike McNeely, whose remarkable fake-kick play over the weekend brought victory to the Florida Gators over rival Georgia.
Dive Insight:
This same-store sales rise is a notable achievement. Neil Stern of McMillan Doolittle said, "You're starting to see even on the premium end, people like Whole Foods struggle a little bit."
As for McNeely, he's famous this week, but not so much for the fake kick. What seems to have captured people's attention is that he went to work the next day at a decidedly unglamorous job. We're not sure what it says about America that such a work ethic is so rare, but we're grateful to McNeely that it at least still exists.