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Article Excerpt
It's hard to find another supermarket chain with a tradition as deep and rich in the beef industry as Jacksonville, FL-based Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. As the story goes, the four Davis brothers, founders of Winn-Dixie, were raised in Idaho in the early 1900s. Consequently, they learned what it takes to bring the best beef to market--a tradition that continues to this day.
Winn-Dixie has evolved into one of the nation's largest supermarket retailers with more than $12 billion in annual sales. It operates more than 1,000 supermarkets and Marketplace superstore locations in 12 states (Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, and Virginia. Wren-Dixie also operates 12 City Markets and Winn-Dixie stores in the Bahamas. Its stores carry a wide range of meat and poultry products. It also operates facilities that process sausage, luncheon and smoked meats, plus it reportedly even raises its own cattle.
Building on its beef roots, the company launched a comprehensive new campaign for its signature food item, WD Brand Prestige Beef, in February. This program includes clear, concise labeling information; helpful advice and ideas on preparing and serving these products; and a toll-free hotline for customers. WD brand beef is U.S. Choice, trimmed lean, and naturally aged for tenderness and flavor.
"At Winn-Dixie, we've had a long heritage of being 'The Beef People,'" said Allen (Al) Rowland, Winn-Dixie's soon-to-retire president and chief executive officer, in February. "For more than 75 years, we've built our reputation on delivering the best beef consumers car buy. Today's [February 5] rollout of WD Brand Prestige Beef underscores our commitment to our customers' confidence in "The Beef People.'" (See side bar for more details.)
On June 26, Frank Lazaran, Winn-Dixie chief operating officer and former president of Randalls Food Markets Inc., becomes chief executive officer, president, and a board member. Rowland said he brought Lazaran into the company a year ago because he knew he had the skills to lead Winn-Dixie. (More on this change later in the story.)
Although Winn-Dixie's private-label beef is the foundation of its meat heritage, the company also sells a vast assortment of refrigerated and frozen pork, lamb, poultry, and veal in a wide range of fresh custom-cut, case-ready, and processed forms. (See side bar on products.) And in keeping up with...
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