Corporate accountability and Winn-Dixie Stores

In this year of scandals at companies too numerous to name any longer, Winn-Dixie Stores has come up with a new one. The management of this publicly traded company has made a deal with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars to purchase any unsold tickets to home games in order to prevent any local TV blackouts. This deal comes only one week after the company announced a net loss for the quarter ended June 26 of $21.9 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with year-earlier net income of $13 million, or 9 cents a share, although the executives tried to duck the reality by throwing a bunch of one-time items to explain the loss. No getting around the fact that the stock is off over one third from it’s most recent highs. Jacksonville’s mayor stood next to the Winn-Dixie CEO to announce this deal, complete with balloons and a marching band, but I certainly wonder if there aren’t more pressing needs for corporate charity in such a big city. Don’t you?