Feedback from Florida.

Saddened by recent news about the troubles at Winn-Dixie that included having its debt rating cut to noninvestment grade, I recently asked a cross section of Consumer Network panelists in Florida how they thought Winn-Dixie could win back customers they were losing to Wal-Mart.

On a recent trip to Florida, I had a chance to look at the stores myself, and see the evidence of whatever the consumers told me. What I observed from visiting three Winn-Dixie stores in Palm Beach and Broward counties was that it's awfully hard to look like a winner when you are losing sales, market share, and stock value. Sometimes it seems to take magic for people and companies to come back from behind, and a little bit of magic might be just what Winn- Dixie needs. If they can't get a hold of fairy dust or the fountain of youth, here's what our panelists suggest:

How Winn-Dixie Could Get Back Customers:

75% Have the best prices on unpackaged fresh produce

74% Clean up its stores

53% Focus on meat again

51% Remodel its stores

47% Make its stores easier or faster to shop

45% Make its stores more senior-friendly

42% Focus again on national brands

37% Focus on fresh fish and seafood

32% Focus on take-out foods

30% Make its stores smaller

For many years, Winn-Dixie's strong suits were bulk produce, choice beef, and lower prices. They called themselves "the beef people," and many believed the slogan to be well founded. When Florida supermarkets were the home of slogans, Winn-Dixie had beautiful beef and Publix had beautiful stores! With this strong beef history, it's not surprising that more than half of the shoppers who responded to our survey thought that Winn-Dixie] could regain customers by focusing on meat again. Sad to say, at the stores and departments I observed, the meat cases looked tired, especially in contrast with the blooming meat cases at Publix.

The strongest response from our survey consumers was having the best prices on unpackaged fresh produce. The consumers who said that, just might be on to the very thing that could give Winn-Dixie an positive edge over the two giants (Publix and Wal-Mart) that are combining to swamp them. Publix has always had beautiful fresh produce, much of it merchandised in sealed packages which friendly produce clerks would cheerfully break down for customers who wanted lesser quantities. However, has focused on bulk produce, which many consumers prefer.

We have recently heard from Florida Wal-Mart shoppers that the produce at Wal-Mart is less than wonderful. By voting for better prices on bulk produce, our Florida survey respondents may have zeroed in on the current giants' vulnerabilities. We wish Winn-Dixie the energy and pixie dust to fight back.

Here are some more of our survey respondents' comments:

* "Some of the Winn-Dixie Stores, probably the newer ones, are kept very clean and appealing to shop at. Everything is very neat. The older stores need closing up. They look cluttered."

* "I don't feel Winn-Dixie will ever be as big as it once was in Florida. The stores never seem to be as clean as Publix, even if the store is new."

* "I've given up on Winn-Dixie so I can't answer your question."

* "Publix, not Wal-Mart, has taken over Florida for food. They lease every available space."

* "Winn-Dixie is so dirty. I even saw bugs in the store."

* "I don't like how Winn Dixie's are laid out and I think they are expensive. They need to remodel stores to be more customer friendly."

* "They can't compete with Wal-Mart's 24-hour convenience."

* "Winn-Dixie needs to be more senior-friendly. They need less crowded aisles and larger print, especially in produce. They also need to get rid of those movable shelves at the ends of the aisles which are stacked way too high."