Publix has a lot of experience serving Hispanic consumers, primarily Cubans, in its Florida home market. The company has even opened a Latino format under the Publix Sabor banner.
Now the company has taken its Hispanic focus outside of the Sunshine state with a remodeled store in the Atlanta market that caters to a local population that is heavily Mexican.
Maria Brous, director of media and community relations at the grocery chain, told RetailWire in an email that the store is a "hybrid" between a traditional Publix and a Sabor.
The store, which posts signs in Spanish and English, features roughly 1,500 new items from Mexico and Central America spread across the store.
"We really had to go out and challenge our suppliers to go out and get us items that are traditionally Mexican. Not Mexican-American, but Mexican," Brenda Reid, a spokesperson for Publix, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About half of the workers in the store speak Spanish. Publix recruited Spanish-speaking individuals from other stores to work in the new unit.
Hispanics in Georgia, as in many other parts of the country, are becoming a greater commercial force. According to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia, Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the state and now represent 5.1 percent of "Georgia's buying power."
While the new Publix is good news for many locals, not all welcome the changes at the store. "I will not support any business that is trying to elevate Spanish to a level equal with English," Loretta Jakubowski of Lilburn, told the Journal-Constitution. "I find it to be insulting to Hispanics and divisive to the community."
Discussion Questions: What are your thoughts on Publix opening a store focused on the needs of Hispanic customers in a heavily Mexican area in Georgia? Were you surprised by the anti-Spanish reaction from at least one consumer interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution?