Tesco has been busy trying to figure out what American consumers want. The company's latest answer is adding about 1,000 new items to shelves of its Fresh & Easy stores. The typical Fresh & Easy currently carries roughly 3,500 items.
"This isn't about changing the concept of Fresh & Easy," Jonathan Church, a spokesperson for Tesco, told Reuters. "What we've got to do is fine-tune the model for the customer we have before us today."
Mr. Church said that among the new items would be Fresh & Easy branded quiche and gourmet hamburger buns, some value-priced private label products, such as Mother's Joy breakfast cereals, and some national brands.
Tesco, which currently operates 120 Fresh & Easy stores in the Southern California, Las Vegas and Phoenix markets, has slowed its expansion as it seeks to get on the right footing with consumers in America. The original plan had 200 Fresh & Easy locations up and running by the end of this year. The company now expects to reach that number by the end of 2010. Tesco has put most of the blame on its slower-than-expected start on economic factors rather than strategic or tactical missteps.
Mr. Church told Reuters that same-store sales are up 30 percent year-over-year and that foot traffic continues to grow. Tesco opened its first Fresh & Easy store in Hemet, California in Nov. 2007.
Discussion Questions: Where do you think Fresh & Easy now stands and will its plan to add items be what it needs to improve its sales performance? Have most of the problems that Tesco has faced since coming to the U.S. been a result of the recession or something the company did or didn't do?