Fresh & Easy gets a Second Chance

Cold and calculated is how many people describe hedge fund managers.  Cold and calculated is how Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru, Steven Johnson describes Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets.

On Tuesday Tesco, the British supermarket chain, floundering with its United States based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets sold the majority of it stores and operating infrastructure to an affiliate of the money-management firm run by the billionaire Ronald W. Burkle.

Clearly Burkle is planning on capitalizing on the growing convergence of the blurring line between restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, and drug stores all selling fresh prepared, portable, convenient meal solutions. If not he wasted his money.

Fresh & Easy can be very successful if they target the time-starved consumer with Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food meal components that are perceived “better for you”, and portioned for one or two. Consumers like the convenient meal participation, differentiation, individualization / family customization aspects of the Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh food niche offers.

Burkle’s, agreed to acquire about 75% of the stores as well as Fresh & Easy’s distribution and production operations.  Sheading the 25% of stores that were simply in bad locations and non-preforming, Burkle’s company is in position to buy time to reposition and capitalize on the growing grocerant trend.

 

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us a retail foodservice consultancy has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche since 1991. For product or brand positioning assistance contact: info@FoodservcieSolutions.us , the Grocerant LinkedIn page or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, BING / GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or Grocerant on Twitter