ABSTRACT
The most popular guys in town this day were the Pepsi representatives giving away free samples to those waiting outside. Security officers kept people in line, allowing a batch to enter as others left. Florida was the new frontier in the ’80s. It had already been discovered by Safeway Stores, Kroger, Lucky and Pueblo International. Eight hundred people a day were moving to Florida, making it the third fastest-growing state in the Union behind New Hampshire and Arizona. The state’s population was expected to climb from 12.5 million to 15 million by the end of the century. Winn-Dixie was getting nervous about Food Lion’s entry into Florida. The market-share leader with 25 percent of the region’s sales, it had the most to lose. Winn-Dixie had just acquired 30 stores from Super Valu in Jacksonville in a deal that included a 400,000-square-foot warehouse. Winn-Dixie took the bait and lowered all its prices in Jacksonville just before Food Lion opened.
