Fresh & Easy Tells Customers Stores Not Closing

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market wants shoppers to know that its doors will remain open even if it is sold. The Southern California grocery store chain is owned by Tesco, a British company which has said it has considered selling it.

"While we don't know exactly what that outcome will be, or if Tesco will continue to own the company, we're confident that Fresh & Easy can continue to be your favorite market," Fresh & Easy wrote in an email, according to KPCC.

Bob Goldin, an executive vice president at market research firm Technomic, said Fresh & Easy's problem might be packaged foods that don't resonate with customers, and stores that don't offer the lowest prices or the best selection. Goldin foresees discount retailers like Dollar General buying and rebranding the locations.

As CSNews Online previously reported, The Hartman Group research firm found that Tesco did not understand American consumer culture, and insisted on doing things its own way — a stubbornness which led to its demise.

Tesco made a number of changes to its Fresh & Easy stores in 2012, including closing some stores that were underperforming, and parted ways with former CEO Tim Mason. It is estimated that Fresh & Easy, which operates many U.S. c-stores, lost more than $1 billion in the past five years.

Tesco has indicated that interested parties have contacted the company, but their identities have not been released. The company is expected to provide a Fresh & Easy update when it reports its full fiscal-year earnings in April.

There are more than 70 Fresh & Easy stores in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.