The Grocery Store's Hidden Protagonist
I open the October 6 Inc. report. The grocery store’s hidden protagonist is the truck’s turning radius. The human-facing supermarket may be the interface; the logistics are the machinery underneath it.
Publix reported second-quarter net sales up 1% to $15.7 billion, comparable-store sales down 0.5%, and net earnings up 20.5% to $1.7 billion. Three numbers pulling in different directions. A machine can be earning more while its existing rooms are selling a little less. It has learned a new posture, or the report has.