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traditional locations. Publix GreenWise is not the core of who we are, but we also knew that we needed to find an answer for customers who were looking for that healthier lifestyle, who wanted more selection of health, natural and organic.
We have three Publix GreenWise Markets — one in Boca, one in Palm Beach Gardens and one in Tampa. More and more customers want to see what we’ve done with those mar- kets incorporated into the traditional stores. They don’t necessarily want a separate store to be able to be called their Publix GreenWise Market. They are much happier with a hybrid store where they still enjoy the everyday indul- gences that we spoke about with different product selection. They just want to see some of the other product mix.
We’ve really had to do a good job of explaining what some of the features are at the Publix GreenWise Market, because some customers don’t even realize it’s environmen- tally friendly. They may have thought the nat- ural lighting, for instance, was just cool. There’s an energy-efficient reason why we’re doing that. We’re using bamboo in the fix- tures, which provides a decorative touch to the store, but there is an environmentally friendly part to that, too. It goes far beyond the products just being organic, to some of the actual materials that were used in the store. It’s why we use soy coating on the roof. What does that do for us? Why are we using the track lighting and how does that help? Why are we using the misters, and why are we using the LED lighting?
These are all things that customers see in our stores. It’s hard sometimes for customers that have been traditional shoppers to under- stand the changes. Why does it look darker down the aisle until I actually start to walk down it and the lighting starts to get brighter as I progress?
Change is a balancing act. Once we set the priorities, we retrofit the stores. In some stores, we need to wait for the remodel, while in others we’re able to implement the changes as they open. It just depends on the magni- tude of the project.
Mira Slott: Can you give some examples of items or procedures that were experimental and being tested that you’re now unfolding into the Publix stores?
Michael Hewitt: At one time, heat recov- ery on the refrigeration systems was experi- mental. Now, I think it’s pretty routine. Even when it comes to the ventilation hoods in the prepared foods areas, we’re working on new technology to avoid as much air conditioning or heat loss as possible through those hoods, and we’re making progress there. I think one day that may result in different hoods being
put in all Publix’s prepared food areas.
Mira Slott: You had mentioned misting and different refrigeration techniques in the produce department. Can you elaborate further on that?
Maria Brous: The misters are done for a couple of different reasons, but the first and foremost is that we can keep produce fresh without using an excess of water.
If you remember previously, there was hos- ing of the produce with all that water and drainage. Misting is much more efficient. You’ll see them not only at our GreenWise
Markets, but also in a lot of our produce departments storewide.
When you look at our lighting — our track lighting in the produce department — some customers may think it’s aesthetic. Yes, it may look better aesthetically to some customers, but the lighting efficiencies involved in the track lighting provide not only a savings, but a more energy efficient source of lighting.
The same thing goes for the LED lighting. When we look at our cases in the refrigerator doors, why are we retrofitting? It’s because over the lifespan of the cases and the products, there’s definitely a return. There’s an argument
MAY 2009 • PRODUCE BUSINESS 37
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