(NYSE): WIN 
Release Date:  June 26, 2000 at 11:00 A.M.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Winn-Dixie - Mickey Clerc, Director of Public Relations, (904) 783-5409
The Return Store - Richard Gersh, (212) 757-1101
www.winn-dixie.com

WINN-DIXIE STORES WILL HOST
"THE RETURN STORE" IN 14 STATES

JACKSONVILLE, FL, June 26, 2000 -- Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., (NYSE:WIN) one of the nation’s largest supermarket chains, will provide host locations for operation of The Return Store, a new business designed to serve e-commerce and traditional merchants and their customers in handling merchandise returns.

The Return Store will operate from the Winn-Dixie Customer Service Centers in selected stores in 14 states, primarily in the Southeast. The company plans to have approximately 400 to 600 operations in the approximately 1,100 Winn-Dixie Stores by the end of 2001.

The Return Store, on behalf of the merchants (dot com, brick & mortar, catalogue or TV) provides a customer service link to consumers who need to return or exchange an item either purchased or received as a gift. “We are delighted to be working with an industry leader such as Winn-Dixie as we begin this new business venture to serve merchants and their customers,” commented Return Store chairman and founder N. S. Hayden.

No packing, wrapping, labeling or other inconvenience is required to return merchandise. The consumer simply takes the item in its shelf packaging, along with the packing slip, and brings it to the nearest Return Store facility. In a few minutes the item is returned, the consumer has a receipt, credit will be promptly applied to the credit card account and the transaction is complete. The Return Store then returns the item to the merchant’s designated destination.

Richard P. McCook, Sr. Vice President of Winn-Dixie, noted that including The Return Store to the services offered by the stores was consistent with the company’s continued efforts to provide the most modern and important products and services to its customers.

The Return Store has chosen to use supermarkets such as Winn-Dixie as host locations throughout the United States because they generally offer convenient hours, ample free parking, a safe, well-lighted and secure environment, and shopping cart availability to handle larger items. Also, the return process may be combined with grocery shopping.

Hours for Return Store operations will generally be 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays when the supermarket is open.

The Return Store website will provide return policies for all merchants represented along with a simple locator system which, when a zip code is entered, will display a map and driving directions to the nearest store.

Customers of merchants represented by The Return Store are not required to make any contact with the merchant for return authorization, and there is no packing or labeling involved. The Return Store handles the entire transaction when presented with the product in its original package and a packing slip.

Return Store operations will begin in selected cities across the country in the fall with a network of about 2,000 stores planned to be in operation by Christmas, 2001.

Winn-Dixie, headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, is a $14 billion supermarket chain that operates about 1,100 stores in 14 states and employs about 126,000 people. Winn-Dixie continues to add services to better serve the needs of its customers. Non-food services such as banking, ATMs, photo processing, pharmacy, postage stamps, money orders, payment of telephone and utility bills, etc., have been added to help provide customers with one stop shopping. The Return Store will be added to the service offered at the Customer Service Counter.

Winn-Dixie serves approximately two million customers per day at it stores in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, Virginia, Texas and Oklahoma. For more information on Winn-Dixie, visit its official website at http://www.winn-dixie.com.

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News Release #20028