How On Ideas Helped Winn-Dixie “Get Better”
Winn-Dixie was a giant in the supermarket industry for more than five decades. With over 1100 stores throughout the Southeastern U.S., the chain saw its peak in the 90’s and then slowly saw its market share drastically decline as new Super Centers and other strong competitors began to dominate.
The result was a struggling chain with tired stores and steadily declining customer traffic. In December of 2004, the company brought in new CEO, Peter Lynch, a veteran in turnaround leadership, and tasked him with bringing the chain back to profitability. Lynch, well-honed in store operations and merchandising, quickly saw what had to be done; but knew he needed to win back the trust of the customers who had defected as well as the company’s own associates, all suffering from low morale.
Before he could even begin his efforts, things went from bad to worse and in February of 2005, two months after arriving at Winn-Dixie, Lynch realized that they needed to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to give the company a fighting chance. Only then could he begin the processes that he knew would improve profitability.
Tom Bolling, CEO of On Ideas, approached Peter Lynch with an unsolicited letter, stating that we could help him to use advertising—provided it was the RIGHT advertising—to bring all those former Winn-Dixie customers home.
Tom and Peter met and the meeting resulted in a branding strategy that acknowledged the chain’s recent stumbling while promising continuous improvement. Mr. Lynch embraced the message of “getting better all the time,” knowing that the improvements he planned to implement would result in improvements that would be obvious to the consumer.
Broadcast and print ads were fearless: bold and disarmingly honest in admitting to past weaknesses, while highlighting the store’s commitment to improve. A genuine commitment to get better. All the time.
Thus, the new Winn-Dixie brand was born in the fall of 2005. It has evolved through four phases, each one representing a new stage of the company’s improving health. “Getting better all the time” has become a rallying cry within the company as well, providing clear direction to all associates that the company is in search of excellence.
In November of 2006, Winn-Dixie successfully emerged from bankruptcy. A year later, the chain is enjoying unprecedented same store sales and its stock remains strong. Winn-Dixie truly is…
Getting Better All The Time
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