JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Winn-Dixie Stores here said Tuesday it plans to become more promotional in an effort to drive the top line after a fourth quarter that included a 5.2% decline in identical-store sales.
According to Peter Lynch, chairman and chief executive officer, "We made the decision in the fourth quarter not to chase sales, and I think that hurt us a little bit. What he have done is take a strategic look at a few departments and while we don't plan to over-promote, we think we can jump-start sales."
He said sales trends during the first eight weeks of the first quarter "have significantly improved, and we have additional sales initiatives we're implementing to build on the improvement so far."
A major source of optimism for Winn-Dixie management, Lynch said, is consumer reactions to the company's new stores in Covington, La., which opened five months ago, and Margate, Fla., which opened two months ago, plus results from an expanded store in Mobile, Ala. Lynch said Winn-Dixie plans to remodel 22 stores in the current fiscal year using those stores as a template, and although costs per store are more than previous remodels — $4 million per unit compared with a $1 million per store average over the past three years — he said he is confident the template will help bring sales up closer to the industry average.
Sales at the Covington store are close to the industry average of $470 per square foot, he explained, "so the question is, how do we bridge the gap between the $300 that Winn-Dixie is running and get to the $470 the industry does? We think the key to success is these stores."
