Fresh & Easy Shedding 50 Sites to Focus on Fresh Food C-stores

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy is changing its approach to convenience retailing, with a stronger emphasis on fresh food.

The El Segundo-based retailer plans to focus on a new business model and will close approximately 50 stores in California, Arizona and Nevada as it invests in its fresh-food initiative, according to The Associated Press.

Fresh & Easy has weathered a wild ride over the past few years. London-based Tesco plc launched the West Coast chain in 2007. However, in 2013, Tesco decided to exit the U.S. market due to the continued underperformance of the Fresh & Easy stores, as CSNews Online previously reported.

Fresh & Easy filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 30, 2013. In the filing, the struggling chain cited debt of between $500 million and $1 billion.

Los Angeles-based The Yucaipa Cos. LLC won the bid to purchase the chain in November 2013.

Since that time, the company has gradually changed the stores' look and introduced a new "click and collect" service in Las Vegas that allows shoppers to buy online and pick up the purchased items at the store. Fresh & Easy said this service will serve as a test for a wider rollout, according to the AP report.