Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has no new store openings set for the month of May.
Fresh & Easy usually announces or confirms any new store openings at least three weeks prior to the opening date.
Additionally, the retailer seldom if ever opens new stores in the last week of a month. Rather, new stores are generally opened during the first three weeks of the month, based on our historic tracking, since October 2007.
Therefore, we're concluding Fresh & Easy is either very late in announcing any new stores it plans to open in May - or more likely, it's taking a breather from opening new stores this month, after a very big April in which the grocer opened 11 stores - and not opening any new units this month.
Additionally, we usually hear from our various sources about new store openings for a given month in advance. April, regarding May, was virtually silent on new store opening buzz from our sources. In contrast, February and March were buzzing.
We do, however, find it a bit odd from a strategic point of view that Fresh & Easy would rush to open 11 stores in April, and then not open any in May.
Why not, for example, open six or seven new units in April, then the remaining four or five this month, in order to spread out the attention and publicity the grocer gets when it opens new stores.
One conclusion: Perhaps Fresh & Easy's senior management team didn't know in March-April that it wouldn't open any new stores in May?
Or - perhaps something is in the works at Fresh & Easy's corporate headquarters in El Segundo, California that makes it easier to focus on without the opening any new stores this month?
Or - May could merely be a new store opening brake. After all, sometimes a cigar is just that - a cigar.
In addition to opening 11 new stores in April, Tesco opened three new Fresh & Easy units in March [March 7, 2010: Three New Fresh & Easy Stores Opening This Month; First Opening March 10 in Palm Springs, California], nine in February [January 27, 2010: February New Store Opening 'Big Bang' For Tesco's Fresh & Easy; Nine New Stores So Far] and five in January, for a total of 28 new stores opened in the first four months of the 2010 calendar year.
Tesco's fiscal 2010/11 year began on February 28, 2010. Therefore it's opened 14 (11 in April and three in March) new Fresh & Easy stores thus far in its new fiscal year. The nine new stores in February were all opened before the February 27, 2010 end date for Tesco's 2009/10 fiscal year.
As of today, Tesco has 159 of its small-format, convenience-oriented Fresh & Easy food and grocery markets open and operating in the following market regions: Southern California, as far south as near the Mexican border; California's Central Valley (the Bakersfield and Fresno Metro regions); Metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada; and Metro Phoenix, Arizona.
In early 2008, Tesco announced it had secured 37 Fresh & Easy store locations in Northern California - 19 in the Sacramento-Vacaville Metro region and 18 in the San Francisco Bay Area - and planned to launch into the region in early 2009. However, the grocery chain later postponed that launch - twice.
Thus far Tesco hasn't opened any of the 37 confirmed (there are a some non-confirmed locations in the region which we've discovered and reported on in the past here) stores in Northern California, despite first announcing there existence and plans to open them over two years ago, nor has the grocer announced anything publicly to date about its plans for Northern California. [April 19, 2010: Tesco Debating Whether to Launch Fresh & Easy Into Northern California This Fiscal Year... or Wait]
On April 20, 2010 Tesco reported a fiscal year 2009/10 loss of $253 million for Fresh & Easy. [April 20, 2010: Strong Group Revenue & Profit For Tesco... But $253 Million Loss at Fresh & Easy] The fiscal year was over on February 27, 2010. The fiscal 2009/10 loss was $45 million more than the $208 million loss Tesco reported for Fresh & Easy in its 2008/09 fiscal year, despite a significant increase in sales, mostly from new store openings, over the previous year.
Stay tuned for June.
Fresh & Easy Buzz Linkage - Recent, Related Posts:
April 22, 2010: Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
April 20, 2010: Strong Group Revenue & Profit For Tesco... But $253 Million Loss at Fresh & Easy
April 19, 2010: Tesco Debating Whether to Launch Fresh & Easy Into Northern California This Fiscal Year... or Wait
April 19, 2010: Tesco Reports Fiscal 2009 Results on Tuesday, April 20; Estimated $250-$259 Million Loss For Fresh & Easy
March 30, 2010: Tesco Set to Open 11 New Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Stores in April
March 29, 2010: Tesco's Fresh & Easy Set to Hit 150-Plus Store-Count Mark on April 7
March 16, 2010: A New Fresh & Easy Store Opens in Las Vegas Tomorrow on St. Patrick's Day; Will Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy's Proud Irish Eyes Be Smiling?
March 7, 2010: Three New Fresh & Easy Stores Opening This Month; First Opening March 10 in Palm Springs, California
February 24, 2010: Fresh & Easy Store Opens its Doors in South Los Angeles
February 23, 2010: Food Deserts & WIC Vouchers: Half A Loaf For the New Fresh & Easy Store Opening Tomorrow in South Los Angeles and April 22, 2010: Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
January 27, 2010: February New Store Opening 'Big Bang' For Tesco's Fresh & Easy; Nine New Stores So Far
January 14, 2010: UFCW Union Launches Informal Boycott of Fresno CA Fresh & Easy Stores Today; One Day After the Stores Open
April 13, 2009: Despite Postponing its Northern California Launch Again Earlier This Year Tesco's Fresh & Easy Planning Third San Francisco Store; First Stockton Unit
Fresh & Easy usually announces or confirms any new store openings at least three weeks prior to the opening date.
Additionally, the retailer seldom if ever opens new stores in the last week of a month. Rather, new stores are generally opened during the first three weeks of the month, based on our historic tracking, since October 2007.
Therefore, we're concluding Fresh & Easy is either very late in announcing any new stores it plans to open in May - or more likely, it's taking a breather from opening new stores this month, after a very big April in which the grocer opened 11 stores - and not opening any new units this month.
Additionally, we usually hear from our various sources about new store openings for a given month in advance. April, regarding May, was virtually silent on new store opening buzz from our sources. In contrast, February and March were buzzing.
We do, however, find it a bit odd from a strategic point of view that Fresh & Easy would rush to open 11 stores in April, and then not open any in May.
Why not, for example, open six or seven new units in April, then the remaining four or five this month, in order to spread out the attention and publicity the grocer gets when it opens new stores.
One conclusion: Perhaps Fresh & Easy's senior management team didn't know in March-April that it wouldn't open any new stores in May?
Or - perhaps something is in the works at Fresh & Easy's corporate headquarters in El Segundo, California that makes it easier to focus on without the opening any new stores this month?
Or - May could merely be a new store opening brake. After all, sometimes a cigar is just that - a cigar.
In addition to opening 11 new stores in April, Tesco opened three new Fresh & Easy units in March [March 7, 2010: Three New Fresh & Easy Stores Opening This Month; First Opening March 10 in Palm Springs, California], nine in February [January 27, 2010: February New Store Opening 'Big Bang' For Tesco's Fresh & Easy; Nine New Stores So Far] and five in January, for a total of 28 new stores opened in the first four months of the 2010 calendar year.
Tesco's fiscal 2010/11 year began on February 28, 2010. Therefore it's opened 14 (11 in April and three in March) new Fresh & Easy stores thus far in its new fiscal year. The nine new stores in February were all opened before the February 27, 2010 end date for Tesco's 2009/10 fiscal year.
As of today, Tesco has 159 of its small-format, convenience-oriented Fresh & Easy food and grocery markets open and operating in the following market regions: Southern California, as far south as near the Mexican border; California's Central Valley (the Bakersfield and Fresno Metro regions); Metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada; and Metro Phoenix, Arizona.
In early 2008, Tesco announced it had secured 37 Fresh & Easy store locations in Northern California - 19 in the Sacramento-Vacaville Metro region and 18 in the San Francisco Bay Area - and planned to launch into the region in early 2009. However, the grocery chain later postponed that launch - twice.
Thus far Tesco hasn't opened any of the 37 confirmed (there are a some non-confirmed locations in the region which we've discovered and reported on in the past here) stores in Northern California, despite first announcing there existence and plans to open them over two years ago, nor has the grocer announced anything publicly to date about its plans for Northern California. [April 19, 2010: Tesco Debating Whether to Launch Fresh & Easy Into Northern California This Fiscal Year... or Wait]
On April 20, 2010 Tesco reported a fiscal year 2009/10 loss of $253 million for Fresh & Easy. [April 20, 2010: Strong Group Revenue & Profit For Tesco... But $253 Million Loss at Fresh & Easy] The fiscal year was over on February 27, 2010. The fiscal 2009/10 loss was $45 million more than the $208 million loss Tesco reported for Fresh & Easy in its 2008/09 fiscal year, despite a significant increase in sales, mostly from new store openings, over the previous year.
Stay tuned for June.
Fresh & Easy Buzz Linkage - Recent, Related Posts:
April 22, 2010: Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
April 20, 2010: Strong Group Revenue & Profit For Tesco... But $253 Million Loss at Fresh & Easy
April 19, 2010: Tesco Debating Whether to Launch Fresh & Easy Into Northern California This Fiscal Year... or Wait
April 19, 2010: Tesco Reports Fiscal 2009 Results on Tuesday, April 20; Estimated $250-$259 Million Loss For Fresh & Easy
March 30, 2010: Tesco Set to Open 11 New Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Stores in April
March 29, 2010: Tesco's Fresh & Easy Set to Hit 150-Plus Store-Count Mark on April 7
March 16, 2010: A New Fresh & Easy Store Opens in Las Vegas Tomorrow on St. Patrick's Day; Will Tesco CEO Sir Terry Leahy's Proud Irish Eyes Be Smiling?
March 7, 2010: Three New Fresh & Easy Stores Opening This Month; First Opening March 10 in Palm Springs, California
February 24, 2010: Fresh & Easy Store Opens its Doors in South Los Angeles
February 23, 2010: Food Deserts & WIC Vouchers: Half A Loaf For the New Fresh & Easy Store Opening Tomorrow in South Los Angeles and April 22, 2010: Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
Breaking Buzz: Tesco's Fresh & Easy to Accept WIC Vouchers at its East Adams Store in South Los Angeles
January 27, 2010: February New Store Opening 'Big Bang' For Tesco's Fresh & Easy; Nine New Stores So Far
January 14, 2010: UFCW Union Launches Informal Boycott of Fresno CA Fresh & Easy Stores Today; One Day After the Stores Open
April 13, 2009: Despite Postponing its Northern California Launch Again Earlier This Year Tesco's Fresh & Easy Planning Third San Francisco Store; First Stockton Unit
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