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Fresh & Easy announced that it will be closing about 50 stores throughout California, Arizona and Nevada—and 30 of those right here in Southern California. That means that about 30% of the 167 stores in the chain are closing.
Fresh & Easy was a venture by the UK grocer Tesco, but the concept didn't do well on this side of the Atlantic. The company declared bankruptcy in 2013 and was bought up by Yucaipa Co, which shuttered many locations. Now the company says that it's trying to switch gears to become a cross between a grocery store and convenience store. The company said that they are closing locations where this concept won't make sense, according to CEO Jim Keyes, in a YouTube video since taken down but transcribed by CBS Los Angeles:
“Fresh & Easy has spent much of the past year and a half since transitioning to new ownership transforming into a new business focused on delivering a new vision of modern convenience. This transformation was always going to be a challenge but the company has accomplished several major initiatives including a massive renovation project and re-launch in Las Vegas with an all-new fresh food concept. Just this month the company rolled out a new e-commerce Click & Collect service in Las Vegas, which will serve as a test for a wider rollout. Fresh & Easy has also put innovation at the forefront of the transformation of its food manufacturing business, building a successful third-party business model out of its Riverside commissary facilities. "The company is now in a better position to rationalize its store base and divest locations that do not meet the criteria of Fresh & Easy’s model of modern convenience. This move allows the company to redeploy capital into development and growth, including a 3,000 to 5,000 square foot store to provide a higher level of convenience and greater density. Fresh & Easy is also working with ADMI, the innovative firm behind the design of the Apple Store, to design the Fresh & Easy store of the future - a concept that the company believes represents the future of convenience retail and puts Fresh & Easy into a category of one: the only fresh food convenience store.”
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