Tesco looks to sell Fresh & Easy, check out of U.S. market entirely

British supermarket giant Tesco had high hopes for a U.S. expansion when it launched its first Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in 2007, but now the hope is at an end. Tesco announced it is looking to sell all 200 Fresh & Easy stores in California, Arizona and Nevada, and will likely exit the U.S. market entirely, according the Los Angeles Times. Tim Mason, CEO of Fresh and Easy, is also stepping down as Tesco explores its options for selling or shuttering the brand. There are five Fresh & Easy stores in the region, in Arden Arcade, South Sacramento, Elk Grove, El Dorado Hills and Lincoln. Earlier this year, Fresh & Easy opened its first store in the region, eventually adding five stores, in Sacramento's Arden Arcade, South Sacramento, Elk Grove, Folsom and Lincoln, with plans to add a store in Oak Park. According to the grocery and retailing analyst blog Fresh & Easy Buzz, Tesco has been searching informally for buyers for some time. Aldi and Dollar General are among the buyers that might be interested, Fresh & Easy Buzz said. Fresh & Easy locations run from about 10,000 to 15,000 square feet.

http%3A//www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2012/12/05/tesco-looks-to-sell-fresh-easy.html



• Sad, but not surprising. I used to RAPE this place with the coupons they'd send me. $5 off $20, and then I'd buy all their clearance stuff. I'd almost feel guilty walking out of there with 15lbs of food for $15. Almost.

• did they sell water pistols?

• Damn! I love my Fresh & Easy. It's the only store within walking distance of my house (not that I ever walked there!) I doubt anyone will buy them, unless Walmart wants to try to create a much smaller format grocery store.

• Fresh & Sleazy always seemed off to me. Like the food wasn't real food.

• I love F&E.

• [quote]Fresh & Sleazy How old are you, 12?

• Sterile and dirty at the same time. Genetically modified, and proud of it. A whiff of the Eastern Bloc. A parody of a "hip" grocery store, by cheap, corporate cynics. The end of this chain is what made me happy today.

  Anonymous

• I refuse to use the self-checkout at regular grocery stores. I shopped at F&E once, and that was enough for me.

• "unless Walmart wants to try to create a much smaller format grocery store." They already have.

• I liked F&E but only visited one once in L.A. Tesco should have tried this on the East Coast instead of California. More population density and crappier supermarkets to compete against here if they'd started out in Metro N.Y.

• R8 = Ann Romney

• [quote]Sterile and dirty at the same time YES. THIS!

  R4

• No R11. I'm just someone who doesn't like seeing people put out of work to enhance the corporate bottom line. Self-checkout means less cashiers are hired and/or hours are cut. In my neighborhood grocery cashiers are union workers, as are all employees of the grocery stores.

  R8

• R9 Yes, I guess that's what Walmart Express is. There aren't any in California, AFAIK, so maybe this would be a good opportunity to expand quickly here (like when Target bought up the Gemcos and the Fedcos.)

• Don't give them any ideas, R14. We don't WANT any more Walmarts here.

• [quote] I'm just someone who doesn't like seeing people put out of work to enhance the corporate bottom line. Self-checkout means less cashiers are hired and/or hours are cut. In my neighborhood grocery cashiers are union workers, as are all employees of the grocery stores. MARY!

• R14, Walmart also has Walmart Neighborhood Markets. Much like Billie Jean, "They're everywhere!", except parts of the Northeast.

  R9

• R13 So you'd prefer to see ALL of the employees out of work when the store shuts down?

• I hate self check-out. I'd rather pay more for anything and have employees receive livable wages. I don't get that CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP bottom line, ultimately, we all pay the price.

• R17 Yes, we have Walmart Neighborhood Markets now (they're even putting one in LA's Chinatown), but not the Express. A Neighborhood Market would never fit into a Fresh & Easy. Aldi would be interesting. We don't have those in California, either. And Dollar General is just starting to expand here. And I have seen a couple of the Dollar General Markets, although I haven't been into one. Are they a grocery store, too?

• Since stores usually don't shut down in my neighborhood, R19, it's not an issue.

  R8/13

• [quote] Aldi would be interesting. We don't have those in California, either. Aldi's owns Trader Joe's.

• F&E opened a store in my neighborhood a couple of years ago & I don't like it. I'm opposed to the self-checkout on principle, & I'm not inclined to buy produce in bags except for grapes. I do routinely buy their $1.99 Australian wine for everyday use, & a big loaf of 98 cent Italian bread made fresh daily by a local bakery -- I'll miss that bread, but I can start stocking up on the cheap wine now that I know its days are numbered.

  not%20sad%20to%20see%20them%20go

• R22 No, it doesn't. The Albrecht brothers split their holding company; one half owns TJ's. The brother split the countries of the world with respect to Aldi; the US Aldi's are owned by the brother who doesn't own Trader Joe's.

• "I love F&E." F&F, R5.

  Cheryl

• I think the name did'em in. "Fresh and Easy" sounds like a line of feminine products. And I'm not talking make-up.

• [quote]I'm opposed to the self-checkout on principle, & I'm not inclined to buy produce in bags except for grapes. MARY!!!

• R26 Well, so does the iPad.

• R27, do you buy produce in bags? Not judging you, just curious.

• [quote] I do routinely buy their $1.99 Australian wine for [bold]everyday use[/bold] Well...

• but R24 many US Aldi's private label products are exactly the same as the products at Trader Joes - - -many of the nuts & dried fruits -Pita crackers -several of the once in a while items (italian marinated portabello mushrooms etc)

  I%20LOVE%20my%20Aldi

• That reminds me that the F&E in my neighborhood gets its meat from the same source that delivers to my Trader Joes. Would make sense if they merge. Their merchandise seems to match quite well for the most part. I just hope Walmart is not taking over.

• tesco came to America with the goal of competing with Wal-Mart. How funny is that?

• Thanks for playing, silly Brits.

• In our area, the TJ's are small and have terrible parking. If they move to the FE stores, most of which occupy standard sized stores with big LA parking lots, people would be happy.

• Interesting article about it in the (UK) Guardian.

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/dec/05/tesco-fresh-easy-turned-americans-off

• cheap = you get what you pay for union busting faux hip grocery store, you will not be missed. at least the Tesco's in England hired cashiers. having said that, I used a self check-out at the three ring circus known as the Church Street Safeway in San Francisco (there's a suggestion for a thread: 'Let's pretend we're the Church Street Safeway') because I was in a hurry, had one item, and there were long lines. at the times I visit the Church Street Safeway there are rarely more than four lanes open, contrast that with Diamond Heights, with its more diamond-like demographic and few if any homeless people, which is humming with activity

• I love self-check out, in England, because they don't even bag your stuff here, so it's not worth the hassle.

• [quote]'Let's pretend we're the Church Street Safeway' The only reason I am able to shop in that Safeway is because of those blessed self check out lanes. That Safeway is truly the Supermarket of the Damned.

  Please%20lord%2C%20let%20me%20just%20get%20out%20quickly

• I want my scotch eggs, sausage rolls, salad cream, and baked beans!!!

• Aw I like some of the food there. Damn.

• You all are such a bunch of Marys.

• They are selling because the costs of the ACA. They are low priced, and pay minimum wage to most employees, and operate at VERY thin margins. They can't cover the health care costs.

• R37- If you could go to ABC store and pay $100 for your groceries, have them scanned by a surly teenager, and bagged by an even more surly old man, or go to XYZ store and get the same groceries for $85 and scan and bag them yourself, which would you choose?

• They never got off the ground in U.S. and entered the grocery market at worst time in economic history. Lost a Billion Dollars. There are too many other choices in most large urban centers who already had market share. Have never been in one, do not know where one is and never saw any advertising for them in CA. The Led Zepplin of Grocery Stores.

• I'll miss Fresh & Easy. I liked them from day one. Some of their house brands are very good so there will be no replacing them. I didn't like the idea of their workers being paid minimum wage, but I never was able to find out if that was even true. If they have a clearance sale I will reall tuk in.

• Funny, I live in the area and never heard of them.

• Good, we have enough British trash in this country.

• I've been to Fresh & Easy and never took to it. It might be that the store was arranged... differently. As someone upthread said, it seem clean yet dirty. It doesn't feel like an American supermarket. Most of the brands I didn't recognize. The bread selection was pathetic; it also didn't look fresh. The market in general seemed under-stocked and under-staffed. It just didn't appeal to me at all and because I didn't recognize many of the brands, I just couldn't buy it. I'm not surprised they are pulling out of the US market. It didn't behave like an American supermarket.

• But where will my cheap friends get all their cheap 2 buck chuck to bring to my next party? Oh, I mean Big Kahuna.

• You know, I thought I had sex with Falco, but it turned out I was only boning Tesco.

• seriously, the city of San Francisco ought to look into locating a mental health services clinic at the Church Street Safeway

• Dollar General might actually end up buying them. Here in my area of Northern CA, DG has begun scooping up local grocery chains (the kind that have just a small handful of stores). They're looking to expand big time.

• Why do geezers hate self check so much? Is it because they have no one in their lives to talk to except the checkout person?

• [quote]Why do geezers hate self check so much? Is it because they have no one in their lives to talk to except the checkout person? And when will they know it is time to get out their change purse long after after thing has been scanned and bagged - and to whom will they count out the linty and not-quite-enough pennies and dimes, slowly, while everyone is trapped in line behind them?

  Get%20off%20my%20lawn%21

• "It doesn't feel like an American supermarket." "It didn't behave like an American supermarket." In what ways, R49?

• r55, I love self check-out. What burns me is having to go through six screens to look-up an unmarked produce code and ultimately have to have a person assist. Plus, those fucking machines are TOO LOUD.

  Eldergay%2017

• geezers write checks for groceries.....arghhhhh

• [quote] Why do geezers hate self check so much? Is it because they have no one in their lives to talk to except the checkout person? Because it's automation replacing a human. Automation=jobs lost.

• [quote]Plus, those fucking machines are TOO LOUD. There's a volume control...look for it next time. As I wrote earlier, but not very clearly, in England the check out people don't pack your bag for you, so self checking doesn't make much difference.

• [quote] As I wrote earlier, but not very clearly, in England the check out people don't pack your bag for you, so self checking doesn't make much difference. Well, here they do. So it does.

• The interior colors of that store scream "downmarket." I'm not surprised Dollar General is interested. Whenever I hear "fresh" used as a product description, I automatically know there's nothing fresh about it. "Fresh" is one of those opposite-words used in retail, like "new" and "reduced." If you don't have the right amount of workers in your store, the store seems dead. Nobody wants to be in a grocery store where footsteps echo and you seem oh, so alone. We don't mind a certain number of self-checkouts, but we want to see some people who have jobs. Food shopping is different from "other shopping." In some places, you want quiet and don't want a bunch of workers around. But when it comes to groceries, if you don't see workers around, you begin to wonder how often the produce has been sitting around

• Yes, R61 -- so each machine is replacing 2 people, 1 checker & 1 bagger. I don't mind when stores have a few self-check machines in addition to regular checkstands that are manned by people. One store I know does that instead of having express lanes at all -- even with an express lane, if it permits 20 items, self-check is always faster for just a couple of things. But F&E has nothing but self-check. At their store in my neighborhood, there are 10 machines & only 1 clerk to assist at all of them. That clerk is stretched pretty thin, handling all sales of alcohol, helping every customer who can't operate the machines, overriding technical glitches, running back to the shelves to replace defective items like squashed produce & broken cartons -- she also has to answer questions from customers about where to find things & details of sale offers, because the only other clerks in the store are busy blocking aisles while stocking shelves. The F&E approach reduces jobs without increasing efficiency for the customer. And most of their prices are no better than mainstream chains, & are higher than discount grocers.

• Well, nothing easy stays fresh for long.

• I love the way the checkout people at Trader Joe's bag my food. I live very far away from TJ's, so I really stock up on food when I go there and I use my TJ's freezer bags instead of paper bags. I'm amazed at how much they can get in one bag and still get it zipped up. I want to applaud every time they do it.

  Well%20done%21

• After reading this, I went to Fresh and Easy this morning, and asked one of the workers there about what's going on. I go there quite a bit, so they know who I am and didn't think it was weird that I was asking. The poor guy told me it was just a rumor. It's a little upsetting that they aren't being honest with employees if, in fact, the higher ups are telling employees that it is just a rumor. Unless of course the same higher ups are telling employees to tell customers that, so is not to let us know the truth. Either way, it's pretty shitty

• I sometimes went to Fresh and Easy in SF and they did almost everything wrong. Fresh cherries would be at a good price, but they would pre-bag them at 2 to 5 lbs. This was in a neighborhood with a lot of seniors who did not want those quantities. They bragged about having corn fed meat at a time when the press was warning us about the danger of corn fed beef. They underpriced some items, but were almost always out of them along with sale items they never seemed to have in stock. The only way they could attract customers were with the $ off coupons and everyone knew to wait until they got a 10 buck one to get their cat food. They had a British section with all the wrong foods ...they just did not respond to or understand their customer base.

• It seems like all of you are acting as if they have already closed the stores down. That's not true. Certainly, they will be bought and continue to keep their doors open. Maybe whoever buys them will make the necessary changes to turn the store into a better shopping experience.

• [quote] I'm just someone who doesn't like seeing people put out of work to enhance the corporate bottom line. Self-checkout means less cashiers are hired and/or hours are cut. Well the times they are a changin'!. Why are you on the internet? You should be getting your news from an old fashioned newspaper!

• UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA!!

• [quote]Well, nothing easy stays fresh for long. You should know r64.

  couldn%27t%20resist

• [quote] It's the only store within walking distance of my house (not that I ever walked there!) You're fat, aren't you?

• R72's, you're so funny. Terrific post.

• To think Fresh & Easy nearly wiped out our local family-owned specialty and gourmet grocery store, Corti Bros. which was established in 1947 and has become something of a institution/landmark in my city (Sacramento). This store has a bit of national fame. Alice Waters herself credits the owner with introducing new ingredients into American cooking. Anyway Tesco/F&E tried to angle in on the store's lease at their flagship location. IIRC, they offered the property management company an out of market figure to obtain the location. After, some local outcry, a rally at the store's parking lot that including Alice Waters herself, Tesco backed down. Corti Bros. was saved. It would have been a huge loss for the community. They have stuff you can't find anywhere else, good prepared foods, a fabulous deli counter, great wine selection and a staff that barely turns over. This would have been eradicated by a sterile store with tons of pre-packaged, pre-prepared food and lousy produce. I only visited the local F&E once. That's all I remember about it.

• Why was their produce so substandard? The Guardian article also notes it. It's not quite an advantage in California.

• no more Heinz salad cream for me. F/E was my only source. I'm not happy.

• [quote] no more Heinz salad cream for me. F/E was my only source. Do you have a Cost Plus World market anywhere nearby? They carry it.

• It's NOT OVER YET.

  MARYS%21

• Sprouts is another offbeat supermarket that I can't get used to, but they seem to have good employee policies and try to provide healthy choices. Still, it's a very weird store with a second-rate vibe to it and its never crowded.

  ghost shoppers

• Sprouts bought out a place called "Henry's" in my town. I liked Henry's better..

• I don't see what's wrong with self Checkout. Up here, the Walmarts do it, even the membership clubs do it as well as the mainstream supermarkets like Stop & Shop. In fact the latter actually lets you pickup a scanner right when you walk in the store. Then you just scan as you go and swipe your card on it. Pretty fucking easy.

  LuciferTheLightBringer

• R74 "Flagship location"? Isn't it their only remaining location? I remember when they had stores in the south area, at Arden Fair, etc. No more. I went into Corti Bros. last year after Christmas and the place was empty. I don't see how they stay in business. (I will grant you they have a unique and very extensive selection of products, however.)

• [quote] I don't see what's wrong with self Checkout. It eliminates jobs.

• [quote]It eliminates jobs. So does the internet, ya dumbfuck. Yet here you are.

• [quote]"Flagship location"? Isn't it their only remaining location? I remember when they had stores in the south area, at Arden Fair, etc. No more. I know. A bit of an exaggeration because it is their remaining location. It's the original in East Sacramento. They had stores on Freeport across from the Executive Airport, Birdcage Walk, and Roseville, I think. I lived away for 25 years, so I'm not sure how many they opened. I moved back here four years ago when F&E was looking for a location and the whole controversy was brewing. I grew up in the neighborhood, which had a lot of Italian businesses, and fondly remember the place (especially their homemade ravioli!), so I was pretty pissed off about possibly losing them. The idea of losing their French Bistro Club was too much, also. I wasn't at all aware of the store's place in foodie history. That's for sure. If you walk in at any given time of the day, it's not nearly as busy as the SavMart down the street and it can be dead, but if you hit at peak times, it can get super busy especially around the deli and meat counters. It's a big lunch spot. If you believe the store's antiquated website, people from across the country special order stuff and have it shipped on dry ice because it's rare or they have some freakish brand loyalty. Here is a link to the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED French Bistro Club. Excellent roast turkey breast and good quality meats provided in very large quantity. This page says it's $6.29, the front page says it's $7.29, but I just paid $6.99 plus tax earlier in the week. I recommend the sourdough roll. Half a sandwich is more than filling for lunch. Oh, and I'm not related to the Cortis. My uncle used to own Espanol, the Italian restaurant across the street until '58 or so when he sold it to the current owners. They kept the name because it was a very popular spot when it was downtown on 2nd street and they Italianized the menu. The old Espanol had to be razed for I-5 construction.

  http://www.cortibros.biz/WEBSITE/Our%20Store/DeliDept/FrenchBistroClub.asp

• R83- So, should they charge a 10% surcharge if you don't use self-checkout? Moron. Stupid fucks like you deserve to be salesbitches.

• I kept reading they pay minimum wage... Really? I didn't know $10 an hour was minimum wage in Ca!!! Dirty stores? Where were you shopping? I've been into 2. Both clean with staff more friendly than the over paid union grunt. Full service grocery stores may scan and bag your groceries but be honest when was the last time that cashier who so (union forced smile) happy cashier stopped their conversation with the unattentive bagger to the acknowledge you? Last albertsons I went into (its now closed as of Oct) only had 3 cashiers at 5 pm all had long lines not worth waiting in. I can agree FnE produce wasn't the greatest but other markets have had worse. And in LA the Hispanic markets are in control not the traditional us markets. Self check-outs don't eliminate jobs they allow workers to stretch themselves. Ever been to an albertsons self check-out? Talk about horrible service!!! 5 minutes just to have my I.D. Checked and the guy didnt even notice he held it upside down! Say what you will but those who had no loyalties to a union loved what fresh and easy had to offer. And if you haven't been able to figure it out yet I am an employee at fresh and easy. Don't worry union reps, union members, and poor fooled union lovers fresh and easy will be bought and the will keep their non-union stance!!

• "5 minutes to have my ID checked" For what? These laws that require that 80 year old grandpas show an ID to buy beer are just another example of how we have given too much power to the government. But libertarians are crazy.

• h

• R87, I hope you're wrong that Fresh & Easy will continue under new ownership. Just as you're wrong that "those who had no loyalties to a union loved what fresh and easy had to offer". I'm neutral about unions but would certainly not miss the over-priced under-staffed store with bedraggled pre-packed produce that's been a big disappointment to my neighborhood. You're also wrong about minimum wages in California. State law sets the rate at $8/hr, but individual cities are entitled to set it higher: San Francisco's is currently $10.24/hr -- in 2013, that will increase to $10.55/hr & San Jose's new $10/hr minimum wage ordinance will take effect. And then there's this masterpiece of propoganda, worthy of Karl Rove himself: "Self check-outs don't eliminate jobs they allow workers to stretch themselves."

• R90- So, a 16 year old kid, with no job skills and not worth more than $10.22/hr will be out of work. That is what minimum wage laws do. That's why spending on automation is replacing low skill workers. If my labor and skill set is worth less than the minimum wage (and 99% of teens are worth WAY less) then I cannot get a job, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

• That is true, r91. I am not sure what you're trying to say though. Businesses usually don't hire for more wages to get their employees a better life, unless competition forces them to do it. But that won't happen in the grocery sector where the margin is extremely thin already anyway. And customers (as a whole) usually don't reward grocery chains for treating employees well. They hardly reward if those stores treat customers well. So where is the incentive for the employer to pay more?

• [quote] So, a 16 year old kid, with no job skills and not worth more than $10.22/hr will be out of work. That is what minimum wage laws do. That's why spending on automation is replacing low skill workers. The only teens I've ever seen working in grocery stores here are grocery baggers/cart wranglers. The cashiers, stock clerks, department specialty clerks and managers are all people who have worked their way up to their current positions.

• The Fresh & Easy store in my neighborhood doesn't seem to have more than about half a dozen employees, if that (1 trying to supervise 10 self-check machines, & 4 or 5 stocking shelves & retrieving carts) -- none of them looks teenaged. And I never see the same person twice in my monthly visits, so there must be quite a lot of turnover. If this store folds, it's not going to throw droves of people out of work.

• margins are not thin the grocery business. I work in purchasing for Safeway. the average store wide for products mark up is 200 percent for the average Safeway supermarket. to shoppers understand business. profit is what is left after expenses. Expenses can be all kinds of charges against gross sales, not neccrssarily reflecting the true cost of doing business. There are many exstravegant trips, cars etc that are costs shoildered ny those cans on the shelf.

• [quote]For what? These laws that require that 80 year old grandpas show an ID to buy beer are just another example of how we have given too much power to the government. But libertarians are crazy You're aware that carding an 80 year old would be a store policy - something a private owner decides on his own volition - and not a law imposed by the government, right? Keep on trollin'!

• R95, please learn proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Thanks.

• R96- In my state even 80 year olds are required, by law, to show a valid ID. R93, those cart wranglers and bag boys must be paid the minimum wage. I bet these stores will have robots that can do it cheaper in 5 years, eliminating more jobs for unskilled people. How can they work their way up if they can't get in on the ground floor? Min wage hurts poor people.

• What state is that, R98? I did some looking around, and the only state I could find that once required everyone to show ID to purchase alcohol, Indiana, no longer has that requirement. I'm calling bullshit.

• R99-

  http://papers-please.tripod.com/tennessee_id.html

• Tesco Bell is only good if you're drunk and it's 2am.

• I'm sad. :(

• I was just in my F&E today - what's the deal?

• Tesco is considering selling them, but haven't done so yet.

• I'm still sad. :(

• Sprouts is huge in AZ. The founders of Sprouts were the original founders of Henry's which was pretty big in Southern California. They sold Henry's to (I believe) Wild Oats. Then they started Sprouts in AZ about 10 years ago. They have come full circle by moving back into Southern California and purchasing and re-branded Henry's as Sprouts. Sprouts' target market is health conscious, organic/grass fed, etc. foodie crowd who want an intimate farmer's market shopping. It sort of falls somewhere between a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods (though nowhere near the ridiculous WF prices). You won't find any Pepsico or Nabisco garbage at Sprouts.

• sorry, should be 'rebranding' and 'intimate farmer's market shopping experience'

• R106 And your point is? Sprouts would never buy Fresh & Easy; their stores are too small. The only buyer I could imagine would be another chain that might want to start a smaller format "express" type store.

• Fresh and easy? that sounds like a shitty brothel.

• Please... I only use self checkout! I bag my groceries better and the cashier's fingers(which she constantly licks to separate bags) have never touched my food.

• Waste of time going to Fresh & Easy Buzz blog. No posts since December of 2012.

• F & E is still busy at the location where I shop.

• sad. :(

• I love Fresh & Easy. The frozen foods are great. I shop there every week.

• BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!!!!!! GOODBYE F&E!!!!!!!!!!!!

  http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-fresh-easy-tesco-us-20130417%2C0%2C4342693.story

• Tesco said a while back they were going to try to sell the chain. Is this anything new? There's nothing in that article about imminent store closures.

• I don't think they will sell the operation as a going concern - locations are too odd and the sizes don't fit in with what other retailers are doing and I don't think anyone wants to deal with keeping all Tesco's suppliers going. I think Aldi picking up some to get into California or sadly Walmart are most likely to acquire some of the real estate.

• Aldi? WTH? Aldi is Trader Joe's. Same company.

• R118 No, it's not.

• Trader Joe's is owned by Aldi.

• No, Trader Joe's is owned by one of the brothers that founded Aldi, but not by that chain. [quote] Trader Joe's was founded by Joe Coulombe and has been owned since 1979 by a family trust set up by German businessman Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind the German discount supermarket chain Aldi.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trader_Joe%27s

• The last time I was at an F&E the teenaged looking employees seemed angry at me for getting in their way by looking for lunch as they lackadaisically restocked the ready made food during lunchtime. I guess now they will have to go back to hanging out in front of 7 Elevens.

• There are two Aldi companies - Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud. Aldi Sud owns the Aldi USA stores and Aldi Nord owns Trader Joes. So technically an Aldi comoany owns TJs, but it is a different company to Aldi USA. They operate in the same markets all over the East. Aldi USA is expanding big time and has been rumored to be looking at getting into Calif. and the west.

• I agree with R117. Selling the whole business to one buyer isn't likely, unless the buyer adjusts the price downward to account for the fact that several locations are not suited for longterm profitable operation. For example, F&E leased 2 vacant supermarket locations in my neighborhood & is paying supermarket rates for both. But only the smaller site is being used as a market, while the other is being used as a warehouse to supply the market. So F&E is paying much too high rent for the warehouse site, but is stuck with that lease for however long it runs -- & F&E is also stuck with the lease for the market site, which can't operate without a supply site. No buyer is going to pay much to acquire baggage like that. Some stupid decisions were made by F&E & I'm not surprised that they've been losing money. Getting out fast is the first smart move I've seen them make.

• Fresh & Easy. I've always thought that would be a great name for a line of feminine hygiene products.

  Cheryl

• E-mail I received last night from F&E: [quote] As you may have heard or read today, our parent company Tesco updated on the future of Fresh & Easy. We appreciate all the support and love we've received from our loyal customers and even though our parent company plans to leave the US, we're pleased to confirm there are no plans to close any portion of Fresh & Easy. While we don't yet know who our new owner will ultimately be, Tesco announced it has already received interest from a number of parties including groups looking to purchase Fresh & Easy as an operating business. [quote]We're focused on continuing to bring you the same delicious, wholesome and affordable food you have come to expect from us. And rest assured, your favorite rewards program has a lot of exciting things in store for you including new Made For Me coupons launching next week, and some enhancements to our mobile apps that are coming soon. [quote]We look forward to seeing you in the store on your next shopping trip. Keep an eye out for great new grilling products hitting shelves for summer and some innovative new promotions on some of your favorite fresh&easy products. We're also getting ready to re-launch our Shop for Schools fundraising program for local schools later in the summer with some exciting changes to make the program even more impactful. [quote]Thank you for your support and let's keep fighting the good food fight!