Publix Supermarkets Tops Employee Ownership 100 List

Publix Supermarkets continues to be the largest majority employee-owned company in the U.S. and, almost certainly, the world. It employs over 120,000 employees in over 800 stores in five Southern states. It consistently shows up on lists of the most admired companies and best places to work, and, year after year, has the highest customer satisfaction scores of any supermarket (and sometimes of any kind of business, period). Publix was started with one store in Florida in 1930. Employee ownership goes back to 1945, when founder George Jenkins created a share bonus and stock purchase plan for all full-time employees. In 1980, an ESOP was set up, with annual contributions around 10% of pay. Employees can also buy stock in the 401(k) plan and, since 1959, a stock purchase plan. Only Publix employees can buy stock, and 100% of Publix is owned by the various plans. The company's stock has far outperformed the market, and a typical associate would earn twice one year's pay over 10 years in the ESOP. The Publix culture is very focused on extraordinary customer service, as its awards would suggest. Anecdotes about some of the more remarkable examples of devotion to customer service can be found in a new book, The Story of Customer Service at Publix, by Joe Carvin, former HR manager at the company.

The updated list of the 100 largest majority employee-owned companies will appear in the next issue of the NCEO newsletter.