This is similar to a post I made to another forum. I am repeating it
here, instead of cross posting. It applies to the folk living in the SW
part of the country, though the expansion plans of the new chain are to
eventually hit all major markets, I've read.
------------------------------------------

Some of you who live in Las Vegas, or might be visiting in a timeshare
where you do a little cooking, might be interested in our local Fresh &
Easy grocery stores. They're an experimental subsidiary of the largest
European supermarket chain, and are trying to develop stores in CA, NV
and AZ that combine the convenience of a mini mart with the ready to
cook food of a grocery store's deli and the "natural" foods concept of
TJ's or Whole Foods. The prices I've seen are in the range of TJ's and
far less than Whole Foods.

They date everything, so you can be reasonably assured that the food is
within its shelf life. Mrs. Nonny and I usually have meals for just
ourselves or one other, so we prefer smaller portions of food that I
don't have to screw around a long time preparing. For instance, I
scored two 6-oz. fresh, never frozen, albacore tuna steaks for dinner
tonight for $6.99/# and a pound of fresh cut fruit salad for about
$2.50. It's not just about the price, but also the convenience. The
stores are smaller than even the smallest Albertson's or Smith's, but
much larger than a "Quickie Mart," while offering a fine selection of
most foods.

I posted here before about my love for the Motherlode cake sold at Claim
Jumper's. Well, Fresh & Easy has a prepared dessert section that has
some really incredible foods like sp tres leches or dulce de leche in
individual servings, tira misu and several other offerings. They're
fresh, dated and in just the right size for one or two people. Like
many of the Fresh & Easy prepared items, they're prepared at a
commissary and delivered fresh daily to the stores, I suspect.

The size of the stores is just right, IMHO. The layout still "sucks" as
my kids say, in that you have to go clear to the back of the store to
get milk and other most frequently needed items. However, the size
means that the back of the store is more like the front of an
Albertson's or Smith's, and you don't need to crawl over lawn furniture,
grills, Christmas decorations and pool supplies to get a dozen eggs a
quarter of a mile back in the store. I like that. The stores are not
intended to replace the mega grocery stores, but to provide an easy
place to grab what you probably will need for a good supper, while being
assured that it's both fresh and probably not chemically enhanced.

Sam's Club cut the heart out of many smaller retailers by mass purchases
and no frill sales of the most commonly purchased items. For instance,
Sam's or Costco buy the most popular "Chevrolet" type of washers, dryers
and refrigerators, leaving just the very bottom and top ends of the
lines for the local merchants to sell competitively. Fresh & Easy seems
to be going after the big chains with their pared down selection of the
most commonly desired foods in the most commonly desired sizes of
packaging. They are also obviously targeting Trader Joe, Whole Foods
and similar "natural" food stores with similar items at lower prices
than most of the "natural" foodstores.

Like Trader Joe's (TJ's) they offer most things under their own Fresh &
Easy label, but also have brand named products. The selection seems
pretty logical and they merely offer a smaller selection. For instance,
there might be 4-6 types of breakfast cereal in medium sized boxes
instead of an entire aisle of 200 selections in 3 different sized boxes.
I like that. Likewise, they might offer 4-5 cuts of beef instead of
the entire selection and the sizes are typically proportioned for 2-3
servings.

To me, it means that when I'm not smoking an entire butt, 4 racks of
ribs, a couple chickens etc., I can buy and cook excellent food here at
the house for Mrs. Nonny without having too much in the way of
leftovers. I suspect that would also really appeal to folk doing a week
or two in a timeshare.



--
Nonny

Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office.

On May 30, 11:47 am, Nonnymus wrote:
This is similar to a post I made to another forum. I am repeating it
here, instead of cross posting. It applies to the folk living in the SW
part of the country, though the expansion plans of the new chain are to
eventually hit all major markets, I've read.

Hey Nonny,

Please e mail me off list, I'd like to ask you a few questions.
kingofkurtopia (at) gmail dot com

Thanks,

Kurt

Nonnymus wrote:
This is similar to a post I made to another forum. I am repeating it
here, instead of cross posting. It applies to the folk living in the
SW part of the country, though the expansion plans of the new chain
are to eventually hit all major markets, I've read.
------------------------------------------

Some of you who live in Las Vegas, or might be visiting in a timeshare
where you do a little cooking, might be interested in our local Fresh
& Easy grocery stores. They're an experimental subsidiary of the
largest European supermarket chain, and are trying to develop stores
in CA, NV and AZ that combine the convenience of a mini mart with the
ready to cook food of a grocery store's deli and the "natural" foods
concept of TJ's or Whole Foods. The prices I've seen are in the
range of TJ's and far less than Whole Foods.

They date everything, so you can be reasonably assured that the food
is within its shelf life. Mrs. Nonny and I usually have meals for
just ourselves or one other, so we prefer smaller portions of food
that I don't have to screw around a long time preparing. For
instance, I scored two 6-oz. fresh, never frozen, albacore tuna
steaks for dinner tonight for $6.99/# and a pound of fresh cut fruit
salad for about $2.50. It's not just about the price, but also the
convenience. The stores are smaller than even the smallest
Albertson's or Smith's, but much larger than a "Quickie Mart," while
offering a fine selection of most foods.

I posted here before about my love for the Motherlode cake sold at
Claim Jumper's. Well, Fresh & Easy has a prepared dessert section
that has some really incredible foods like sp tres leches or dulce
de leche in individual servings, tira misu and several other
offerings. They're fresh, dated and in just the right size for one
or two people. Like many of the Fresh & Easy prepared items, they're
prepared at a commissary and delivered fresh daily to the stores, I
suspect.

The size of the stores is just right, IMHO. The layout still "sucks"
as my kids say, in that you have to go clear to the back of the store
to get milk and other most frequently needed items. However, the size
means that the back of the store is more like the front of an
Albertson's or Smith's, and you don't need to crawl over lawn
furniture, grills, Christmas decorations and pool supplies to get a
dozen eggs a quarter of a mile back in the store. I like that. The
stores are not intended to replace the mega grocery stores, but to
provide an easy place to grab what you probably will need for a good
supper, while being assured that it's both fresh and probably not
chemically enhanced.

Sam's Club cut the heart out of many smaller retailers by mass
purchases and no frill sales of the most commonly purchased items.
For instance, Sam's or Costco buy the most popular "Chevrolet" type
of washers, dryers and refrigerators, leaving just the very bottom
and top ends of the lines for the local merchants to sell
competitively. Fresh & Easy seems to be going after the big chains
with their pared down selection of the most commonly desired foods in
the most commonly desired sizes of packaging. They are also
obviously targeting Trader Joe, Whole Foods and similar "natural"
food stores with similar items at lower prices than most of the
"natural" foodstores.

Like Trader Joe's (TJ's) they offer most things under their own Fresh
& Easy label, but also have brand named products. The selection seems
pretty logical and they merely offer a smaller selection. For
instance, there might be 4-6 types of breakfast cereal in medium
sized boxes instead of an entire aisle of 200 selections in 3
different sized boxes. I like that. Likewise, they might offer 4-5
cuts of beef instead of the entire selection and the sizes are
typically proportioned for 2-3 servings.

To me, it means that when I'm not smoking an entire butt, 4 racks of
ribs, a couple chickens etc., I can buy and cook excellent food here
at the house for Mrs. Nonny without having too much in the way of
leftovers. I suspect that would also really appeal to folk doing a
week or two in a timeshare.

Do you think there is something to their specific sunbelt target market, in
that there are more retired and empty nest type families in that area? That
would mean more people with above average tastes and preferences, more
disposable income, and smaller households which benefit the most from this
type of marketing. I would expect they might also do very well in Florida.

But in areas like KC, the suburban households and demographic areas which
could best support somewhat upscale (even if less expensive than Whole
Foods, for example) stores tend to be younger and larger families than the
averages in the sunbelt. While Overland Park can support a larger than
average Whole Foods store, from the detailed description you've given I
would expect it to also have less appeal than Whole Foods for such families.
However as they become firmly entrenched in a particular market niche in the
southwest they may be able to make adjustments to compete in other parts of
the country.

In any case its sure an interesting concept. Someone has obviously done
their homework. Now if you could just get their barbecue concession.......

MartyB in KC

Nunya Bidnits wrote:


Do you think there is something to their specific sunbelt target market, in
that there are more retired and empty nest type families in that area? That
would mean more people with above average tastes and preferences, more
disposable income, and smaller households which benefit the most from this
type of marketing. I would expect they might also do very well in Florida.

My first thought was that they were looking for the more rapidly growing
areas. . . but then that would also fit into your excellent analysis
above. The growth areas seem to attract the retirees and young couples
hustling with their careers, so it makes sense.



But in areas like KC, the suburban households and demographic areas which
could best support somewhat upscale (even if less expensive than Whole
Foods, for example) stores tend to be younger and larger families than the
averages in the sunbelt. While Overland Park can support a larger than
average Whole Foods store, from the detailed description you've given I
would expect it to also have less appeal than Whole Foods for such families.
However as they become firmly entrenched in a particular market niche in the
southwest they may be able to make adjustments to compete in other parts of
the country.

In any case its sure an interesting concept. Someone has obviously done
their homework. Now if you could just get their barbecue concession.......

I don't know where they're headed next. The newspaper reports that
their sales are not consistent with their business plan, but then I
think that their concept is one you need to warm up to. If they survive
for a while, I suspect we'll see them thrive and grow.


--
Nonny

Nonnymus
Never believe a person who is
Drunk, Horny or Running for Office.