"The story was based on speculation about a job advertisement listed on freshandeasy.com," according to company spokesman Roberto Munoz.
We've decided to keep this discussion online to preserve some of the well-informed commentary about loyalty marketing that you'll see below, but please disregard the reporting in these following paragraphs.
Tesco's Clubcard is widely viewed as one of the most productive shopper loyalty programs in retailing and now it appears as though the company intends to bring it to the U.S. in an attempt to help its Fresh & Easy chain, according to a Financial Times report.
When originally devised for the U.S. market, Fresh & Easy was intended to be a no-frills, limited assortment, discounter delivering the product quality associated with Whole Foods at Walmart-like prices. By most accounts, Fresh & Easy has struggled with its approach and importing the Tesco loyalty program is apparently one response to address its on-going challenges.
One, perhaps, significant difference between the Tesco program in the U.K. and U.S. is that dunnhumby will not be able to work with Fresh & Easy here. The company, which is partly owned by Kroger, works with that company on an exclusive basis in the grocery sector in the U.S.
On the plus side, Tim Mason, who runs Fresh & Easy, was instrumental in launching the Clubcard program when he served as marketing director for Tesco.
Discussion Questions: Will bringing Tesco's Clubcard to the U.S. be a good or bad move for Fresh & Easy? What types of practical changes will it mean for Tesco's U.S. operations? How big a deal will it be that dunnhumby will not be involved in the U.S. program?