More Reshuffling: Number Two Marketing Exec Follows CMO Uwins Out the Door at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

Tesco's Fresh & Easy celebrated birthday number four November 9.



The top-level management reshuffling and integration of the marketing function into a new combination buying-merchandising-marketing department headed by chief customer officer and former chief commercial (buying and merchandising) officer John Burry continues at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

The latest departure from the Fresh & Easy's El Segundo, California headquarters is marketing operations director Paul Madarieta, who was the number two marketing executive in what was until a couple weeks ago the standalone marketing department.

Madarieta, now gone, reported directly to former chief marketing officer (CMO) Simon Uwins, who as we were the first to report in this story on November 10 left Fresh & Easy and Tesco in a top-level shakeup initiated by Philip Clarke, the CEO of Tesco, and Tesco group deputy CEO/chief marketing officer Tim Mason, who's also the CEO of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Madarieta joined Fresh & Easy in late 2007 in a retail operations capacity. His title before moving into marketing was regional director of California stores.

He was later brought into the grocery chain's corporate marketing department by CEO Mason, who, according to our sources, believed his knowledge of retail operations, particularly in California, and high-level of enthusiasm would make him a good addition to the department and to the grocery chain's marketing efforts.

Mason, who since March of this year has been Tesco's chief marketing officer and deputy CEO, in addition to remaining CEO of Fresh & Easy, was the United Kingdom-based global retailer's chief marketing officer before coming to California in 2006 to start up Fresh & as its founding CEO.

Madarieta became Fresh & Easy's marketing operations director in January 2010.

As part of the shake up that resulted in Simon Uwins' leaving Fresh & Easy (see here), Madarieta was offered a lessor position in the new, combined department being headed up by John Burry, which he ultimately declined, instead leaving the 184-store fresh food and grocery chain, according to our sources.

Madarieta's position, like that of his former boss Simon Uwins, has been eliminated by Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood market recently posted an advertisement for a marketing analyst, a position that pays considerably less a salary than the former marketing operations director position, and a whole lot less than the chief marketing officer position formerly held by Uwins. The marketing analyst will work in the new joint commercial (buying-merchandising)-marketing department being headed up by chief customer officer John Burry.

Prior to joining Tesco's Fresh & Easy, Paul Madarieta spent a number of years working for iconic specialty grocer Trader Joe's, which Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has sought to emulate in a number of operational and merchandising ways, ranging from store size and look and its focus on private brands, to putting an emphasis on the wine category, among others.

Madarieta started out as a crew member (store clerk) at Trader Joe's. He later became a store captain (store manager), and from there was promoted to a regional vice president position with the Southern California-based grocery chain.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has hired a number of former Trader Joe's employees.

For example, Larry Biggerstaff, Fresh & Easy's current director of grocery buying and merchandising (reporting to John Burry), was the vice president of merchandising at Trader Joe's prior to joining El Segundo, California-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market last year, as we reported in this September 11, 2010 story - Ex-Trader Joe's VP, Winn-Dixie Exec Larry Biggerstaff New Director of Grocery at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

A number of category managers and buyers at Fresh & Easy also have previously worked for Trader Joe's, which is headquartered in the Southern California city of Monrovia.

For example, in the November 10 story about Simon Uwins' departure, we mentioned that three key mid-level headquarters employees had also recently left the grocery chain.

One of the employees who left in the last 60 days is Mei-Lon Jimenez, who until her departure was the category manager for bakery at Fresh & Easy, and prior to joining the grocery chain worked for Trader Joe's.

In her position at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, Jimenez played a significant role in the start up of the new in-store bakery departments the grocer is putting in many of its stores. We broke the news about the bakery development in this May 18, 2011 story. Fresh & Easy started the in-store bakery installations late this summer. It's on the record as saying its goal is to have the bakeries in about 100 of its 184 grocery markets by the end of this year.

The former Fresh & Easy bakery category manager is now working for the Coles supermarket chain in Australia.

We discovered she joined the down-under supermarket chain two weeks ago when Coles' posted her name on a portion of its website, listing her as its new category manager for cheese. A senior executive at the supermarket chain confirmed the posting. She started at the down-under chain last week, according to the source.

Coles' is headed up by former British supermarket executive Ian McLeod. Its senior management team includes numerous veterans of the food and grocery retailing business in the United Kingdom, including Tesco, as we detailed in this December 25, 2009 piece: It's 'British Invasion: The Sequel Down Under' For Former Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Director of Grocery Charlotte Maxwell.

Another related Coles-Tesco Fresh & Easy angle: Charlotte Maxwell, who worked for Tesco for nine years and was the director of grocery buying and merchandising at Fresh & Easy from 2006 until August 22, 2008, joined Coles in April 2009 as its general manager of deli and bakery, which includes cheese. Ironically, she left Coles (about 30 days ago) to pursue other occupational opportunities. (Click here to read about Ms. Maxwell's departure from Tesco's Fresh & Easy and her joining Coles in Australia.)

With the departure of the number one (Simon Uwins) and two (Paul Madarieta) marketing executives at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, chief customer officer John Burry has taken on the dual-responsibility for the corporate commercial (buying and merchandising) and marketing functions at the Tesco-owned chain, as we reported in our November 10 story.

Additionally, as we noted in the story, Tim Lee, who's been Fresh & Easy's director of fresh foods, reporting to Burry, is stepping in as a key player in the grocery chain's marketing efforts. He continues to report to Burry

Lee is being replaced as director of fresh foods by Ian Fletcher, who previously was in charge of Fresh & Easy's kitchen operation. He too reports to John Burry, as does Lee and director of grocery Larry Biggerstaff.

From a balance sheet (cost savings) perspective, Uwins' salary is being absorbed into Burry's, perhaps with a slight bump, while Madarieta's position and salary will essentially be absorbed by Tim Lee. As previously noted, the two marketing positions have been eliminated.

Tesco will report its 2011/12 fiscal year third quarter results on December 8, although it won't likely offer specific sales and loss numbers for Fresh & Easy, as it generally doesn't do so except when reporting half (interim) and full-year results.

On October 5, 2011 Tesco reported a fiscal 2011/12 half-year loss of $112 million for Fresh & Easy, on sales of $470 million. The loss is 21-23% (depending on how recorded) lower than the one reported for Fresh & Easy for the same period in the previous fiscal year.

The United Kingdom-based global retailer's CEO, Philip Clarke, says Tesco will break-even with Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market by the end of the 2012/13 fiscal year, which is 15 months away. The 2012/13 fiscal year ends February 2013. Tesco reports its sales and profits/loss for the year in April 2013.

Post Script: Take a look at prediction number 7 in this story from last year - December 30, 2010: Seven Predictions For Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market For 2011.

Also see these columns by our 'The Insider' columnist, all published before Philip Clarke became CEO of Tesco in March 2011:

>October 8, 2010: Incoming Tesco CEO Philip Clarke Needs to 'Imagine' When it Comes to Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA

>September 13, 2010: Reading Philip Clarke's Tea Leaves: Might A Mixed Corporate/Franchise Model Be in Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's Future?

>June 12, 2010: Will Phil Clarke Shake Things up at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA When He Becomes Tesco CEO in 2011?

Additional Related Stories

November 17, 2011: 'Meat Guru'-Category Manager Bill Arnold Out at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

November 10, 2011: Chief Marketing Officer Uwins Out in Top-Level Reshuffling at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

October 27, 2011: Former Meat Buyer Wins $400,000-Plus Legal Judgment From Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

February 23, 2011: Incoming Tesco CEO Philip Clarke Visits America - And Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

February 28, 2011: Changing of the Guard: Clarke Takes Over the Reins as Tesco CEO Wednesday

Click on this link - Fresh and Easy headquarters personel changes - for more related stories.

[Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.]

Key 'Veteran' Fresh Produce Category Manager Chris Harris Leaves Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

The produce department in Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market stores. [Photo credit: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market]

Breaking Buzz

Fresh on the heels of former director of grocery buying and merchandising Sean McCurley's departure from Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market to return to Tesco in the United Kingdom (UK) at the end of May [May 23, 2010: Director of Grocery Sean McCurley Leaving Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market to Return to Tesco in the UK], the El Segundo, California-based fresh food and grocery chain's corporate buying and merchandising department has lost another key player: Fresh produce category manager Chris Harris.

Harris, who was one of the few - if not the last - remaining original category managers who joined Fresh & Easy in late 2006-2007 before the first stores were opened, has left the company to pursue another employment opportunity in the fresh produce industry, Fresh & Easy Buzz has learned.

Since opening its first stores in November 2007, Fresh & Easy has seen numerous category managers and buyers come and go. [See -August 17, 2008: Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Experiencing A Category Manager and Buyer 'Brain Drain' and August 17, 2008: Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy's Director of Grocery Returning to the UK; Grocery Chain Reorganizing its Corporate Buying Department.] In fact, Chris Harris could be called the "departed veteran category manager" at Fresh & Easy because of the rapid turnover over the last three years in the corporate buying and merchandising department. The department is run by John Burry. He previously worked at Tesco in the UK. He came with CEO Mason and the initial group of senior executives from across the pond to start up Fresh & Easy in 2006.

The fresh food and grocery chain is also already on its second set of directors in both fresh foods and grocery in the corporate buying department. [See first link above, plus - August 22, 2008: Special Report: Today Last Day For Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Director of Grocery Charlotte Maxwell; Moving Back to Tesco in the UK; January 6, 2009: Breaking Buzz: Corporate Director of Fresh Foods Jim Jensen Leaves Tesco's Fresh & Easy; and May 23, 2010: Director of Grocery Sean McCurley Leaving Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market to Return to Tesco in the UK.] Fresh & Easy divides its corporate buying and merchandising department and function into two sections - fresh and grocery. Fresh includes produce, perishables and fresh-prepared foods. Grocery (which the grocer calls ambient, using the British industry term) includes dry grocery and everything else that's "ambient."

Chris Harris, 34, was a key player for Fresh & Easy's corporate buying and merchandising department because, among other positive attributes, he was known to be an aggressive, "get it done" fresh produce category manager, as well as a solid relationship builder, according to growers, vendors, and others who worked with him during his about three years at the fresh food and grocery chain of 159 stores. They also say Harris loves the fresh produce business in general, and demonstrated it in his job at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, and in vendor relations.

Harris also is a native of the UK - although he never worked for Tesco before joining Fresh & Easy - which offers a certain cachet at the grocer's corporate headquarters in Southern California. Virtually all of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA's senior executives, from CEO Tim Mason on down, all came from the UK, and all worked for Tesco there previously.

Chris Harris first came to the U.S. in 2005, after working for a lettuce growing company in the UK, to work in the grower-processor side of the fresh produce industry. He working for the Ready-Pac and Professional Produce companies in Southern California before joining Fresh & Easy in 2007.

Additionally, he was a key player for the buying and merchandising department at Tesco's Fresh & Easy because he has a strong institutional memory of the start up of the chain in 2007, since he was key in getting the fresh produce category set up and functioning. That can be a difficult type of experience to replace, particularly at such a young grocery chain.

The timing of Harris' departure comes just shortly after a new director of fresh foods - Tim Lee - started at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Lee only recently joined Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market from Tesco in the United Kingdom, replacing Jim Jensen, the former director of fresh foods who left to take a job helping to start up the fresh, prepared foods program at Walgreens drug. [See - January 6, 2009: Breaking Buzz: Corporate Director of Fresh Foods Jim Jensen Leaves Tesco's Fresh & Easy; January 15, 2010: Just-Exited Tesco Fresh & Easy Fresh Foods Director Jim Jensen to Head New Fresh Foods Initiative at Walgreens Drug Chain and January 21, 2010: Walgreens Announces Hiring of Former Fresh & Easy Fresh Foods Director Jim Jensen; Confirms Our January 6 Report]

Tim Lee's specialty at Tesco's corporate headquarters in the UK, where he was a produce category procurement director, was fresh produce. There Lee and another Tesco produce category procurement director, Alex Dower, launched Tesco's global fresh produce sourcing buying and supply chain initiative in about mid-2009. The initiative focuses on direct procurement of fresh produce for Tesco stores in the UK and continental Europe. Lee's responsibilities included setting up satellite offices in growing and sourcing regions around the world and staffing the offices with technical specialists and produce buying teams. [More here.]

Sources tell us Lee has started initiating various changes in Fresh & Easy's fresh produce procurement and related policies and practices, based on some of the experiences he had with Tesco in the UK. As far as we're aware, Tim Lee has no previous experience in the U.S. food and grocery retailing or fresh produce industries.

Prior to Lee's arrival, Chris Harris was the point man for fresh produce procurement, pretty much running the category, with supervision by Jim Jensen, who's area of expertise is more in the fresh, prepared foods and related categories rather than produce.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy hasn't replaced Harris yet, nor is it currently advertising for his produce-bakery category manager position as of today.

Special Report: Today Last Day For Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Director of Grocery Charlotte Maxwell; Moving Back to Tesco in the UK

On August 17 we reported in this piece: "Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy's Director of Grocery Returning to the UK; Grocery Chain Reorganizing its Corporate Buying Department," that Charlotte Maxwell, director of grocery at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA, is leaving Tesco's U.S. food and grocery retailing venture to return to Tesco's corporate offices in the United Kingdom to accept a grocery director's position which she interviewed internally for and was recently offered. It was an offer she accepted.

In the August 17 story we reported she would be leaving Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and its headquarters in El Segundo, (Southern) California for her new position at Tesco in the UK before the end of this month.

We've now learned that today, August 22, is Ms. Maxwell's last day with Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA and at its Southern California headquarters.

After today, Ms. Maxwell, who's home is Britain, will be returning home to live and take up her position as a grocery director level four at Tesco's offices in the UK.

Like many of the Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market senior executives, including CEO Tim Mason, marketing director Simon Uwins and others, Ms. Maxwell came from the UK to Southern California to start up the Fresh & Easy chain. And like Mr. Mason, Mr. Uwins and most of the food retailer's other senior executives, Fresh & Easy has been Ms. Maxwell's first experience with food and grocery retailing American style.

As we reported in our August 17 piece, Sean McCurley, also a British native, will be replacing Charlotte Maxwell as corporate director of grocery at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. Mr. McCurley is currently the director of fresh, which has been an equal position to Ms. Maxwell's in Fresh & Easy's corporate structure. Essentially he is making a lateral move within the company. He begins his new position with Charlotte Maxwell's departure today.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market splits its category management/merchandising and buying department into two functional areas: grocery and fresh, as we detailed in our August 17 piece.

As part of Ms. Maxwell's departure, Tesco's Fresh & Easy is reorganizing its corporate buying department, replacing her with Mr. McCurley, along with making other adjustments and changes in the department.

That reorganization also comes on the heels of five category managers and buyers having left Fresh & Easy in the last 4 -to- 5 months. For more information on this category manager and buyer brain drain at Fresh & Easy's corporate offices read our other August 17 piece: "Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Experiencing A Category Manager and Buyer 'Brain Drain.'"

Tesco opened its 73rd Fresh & Easy small-format (average 10,000 -to- 13,000 square feet) combination basic grocery and fresh foods store on Wedneday, August 20 at Tustin and Chapman streets in the Southern California city of Orange. It's the grocery chain's second store in the city, and its eighth unit in Orange County, which the city of Orange is located in.

Related stories from Fresh & Easy Buzz:

August 17, 2008: Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy's Director of Grocery Returning to the UK; Grocery Chain Reorganizing its Corporate Buying Department

August 17, 2008: Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Experiencing A Category Manager and Buyer 'Brain Drain'

Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy's Director of Grocery Returning to the UK; Grocery Chain Reorganizing its Corporate Buying Department

Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is in the process of reorganizing its corporate category management and buying department at its El Segundo, California corporate headquarters, Fresh & Easy buzz has learned. (Fresh & Easy calls its buying department "Commercial," in following the British usage, even though its a U.S-based division.)

As we reported earlier, five category managers and buyers have left the company over the last four -to- five months, from February -to- June, 2008.

Key to the corporate category management and buying department organizational changes is the departure of Charlotte Maxwell, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's director of grocery. Ms. Maxwell, who is a British native, plans to return to Tesco PLC in the United Kingdom to assume a director position at corporate headquarters there, sources tell Fresh & Easy Buzz.

Replacing Ms. Maxwell as director of grocery will be Sean McCurely, who currently is director of the Fresh Department. Mr. McCurely is equal to Ms. Maxwell in the corporate organizational chart. Therefore his will essentially be a lateral move within the company.

Grocery and Fresh are the two departments within Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's merchandising and buying organization.

Additional changes and new category management and buying assignments include:

>The promotion of existing Bakery category manager Jim Jensen to the director of fresh, replacing Sean McCurley who is assuming Ms. Maxwell's director of grocery position.

>The existing category manager for dairy/deli (which is in the Fresh division) is moving over to the Grocery Department to be the category manager of specialty, baking and canned goods, reporting to Sean McCurley, who he currenly reports to in the Fresh Department.

>A new person has been hired to be the category manager for dairy/deli, replacing the existing category manager, who is moving over to the grocery division. Our sources say his first name is Dan. However they don't have a last name for the new dairy/deli category buyer. He will report to Jim Jenson, who will be the new Fresh Department director, as detailed above.

>The current beverages category manager is getting the confections category added to his portfolio. Previously he was in charge of canned goods along with beverages but no longer will be because that segment is now going to the new specialty, baked goods and canned foods category manager as we detailed above. Beverages is under the Grocery Department.

Additionally, we've learned the wine and beer category, which originally was part of the Grocery Department but was moved some time ago to the Fresh Department for internal reasons, is going to be switched back to its original location in grocery, under the supervision of Sean McCurley, who as we said above is switching from director of fresh foods to grocery director, replaces Charlotte Maxwell who is returning to Tesco in the UK.

Further, our sources tell us the frozen foods category, which currently is in the Fresh Department, likely also will be moved to the Grocery department under Mr. McCurely's supervision.

After the organizational changes are completed, the Fresh Department will consist of the following: fresh meat, fresh produce, bakery and dairy/deli. All other categories will be under the Grocery Department.

According to sources, Fresh & Easy has filled some of the five category manager and buyer positions we reported on here. However, based on the math, it appears there remain openings to fill for bakery goods in the Fresh Department and snacks and breakfast in the Grocery Department. Of course, depending on how the new Grocery and Fresh department directors organize their respective departments, these two category manager positions could be merged, changed or otherwise adjusted.

Fresh & Easy has filled the vacant non-foods category manager position internally, moving former frozen foods category manager Michelle Bonilla into that position. Her non-foods duties include health and beauty care items. At press time we're told the buyer position under her has yet to be filled.

We weren't able to determine as of yet if Ms. Bonilla's frozen foods category manager position has been filled. Sources say there's been talk about trying to fill it internally.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market category managers have started to informally tell their supplier sales representatives about the reorganization and changes. Sources tell us the company has no plans to make a formal, written announcement to the supplier community or the press about the changes however.

In addition to these major organizational changes in the category mangement-buying department, particularly the departure of Ms. Maxwell, there will be some additional minor changes and tweaks, particularly when the department is able to hire the remaining category managers and buyers.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market currently has 71 of its small-format (10,000 -to- 13,000 square foot), convenience-oriented combination basic grocery, fresh foods and specialty grocery markets open in Southern California, Metropolitan Las Vegas, Nevada, and in the Phoenix, Arizona Metro region. Numerous additional stores are scheduled to be open the rest of this year and next year, including moving into the new markets of Central and Northern California beginning in early 2009, as we've reported on extensively.

Special Report: Tesco Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Experiencing A Category Manager and Buyer 'Brain Drain'

Five category managers and buyers have left their jobs at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market corporate headquarters in just a four -to- five month period, from February -to- June of this year, Fresh & Easy Buzz has learned.

These five category managers and buyers were responsible for headquarters product category merchandising and buying for the majority of the grocery chain's key grocery department categories. Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's merchandising and buying function is organized into various departmental segments such as grocery, fresh foods and the like.

The following are the titles and categories the departed Fresh & Easy category managers and buyers were responsible for:

Title: Category Manager/Specialty Foods. Responsible for merchandising and buying of all Specialty Foods, which includes: spices, baking products, oils and numerous other categories Tesco's Fresh & Easy categorizes under the broad specialty foods title.

Title: Category Manager/Non Foods. Responsible for the merchandising and buying of the entire non-foods category, in addition to directly buying about 50% of the category's items on a day-to-day basis. A buyer who reported to this category manager bought the other 50% of the category items on a day-to-day basis.

Title: Buying Manager/Non-Foods. This buyer, who also left like the non-foods' category manager, bought the about 50% of the non-foods category items the category manager didn't buy, including baby food and baby supplies and pet foods.

Title: Category Manager/Breakfast, Snacks, Confection, Cookies and Crackers. In addition to having overall merchandising responsibility for these categories, the category manager also bought all the confection and snack lines on a day-to-day basis, while a direct-report buyer bought the other categories.

Title: Buying Manager. Bought the following non-foods category segments on a day-today basis: vitamins, energy bars, paper goods, detergent and a few others. Additionally, this buyer had previously bought coffee, canned goods, jams, preserves and a few other food segments. The non-foods category buying responsibilities came after the non-foods category manager left employment, which according to sources was about 3 months before this buying manager left.

Fresh & Easy Buzz has identified the names of each of these five category managers and buyers through our sources and through additional research. However, we aren't publishing the names since we don't think doing so in necessary, along with the fact one or more of them may currently be in the job market.

The first category manager/ buyer left Tesco's Fresh & Easy in late February, 2008, according to multiple sources. The last buyer to leave the company did so in late June, according to our sources.

As each of these category managers and buyers left Tesco's Fresh & Easy in the four -to- five month period from February -to- June of this year, their respective category management and buying responsibilities were divided among the remaining category managers and buyers, resulting in what sources have described as significant added workloads for the remaining headquarters buyers.

Suppliers also say there's been somewhat of a "who's on first" situation at Tesco's corporate buying headquarters in El Segundo, California in that with so many category managers and buyers leaving over such a short period of time, product lines are being handed off near weekly, resulting in having a different buyer every other week or so for a supplier's line.

These five aren't the only category managers or buyers who've left Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in its short tenure. A couple of the grocery chain's original buyers, hired in the pre-store opening phase, left the company before the first stores opened in late October-early November, 2007.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has been advertising for category managers and buyers and conducting interviews to replace each of the five headquarters merchandising and buying department employees who've left the company over the last 4 -to- 5 months.

We've learned that a couple of the positions have been filled but that at least two, both category manager positions, have yet to be filled.

A person who interviewed for one of the positions recently, but who notified the company shortly after his interview that he wasn't interested in the position because he decided to accept another opportunity offered him elsewhere, told Fresh & Easy Buzz he was told that if hired it was possible he might end up as a category manager in a category different than the one he was interviewed for initially because things were in a bit of a state of flux within the buying department.

The five buying department employees who've left Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in just the last four -to- five months have left a serious void, or brain drain, at corporate headquarters when it comes to merchandising and buying, according to multiple sources.

In many ways, most of the grocery chain's short institutional memory and history in the grocery category headquarters and buying area has been wiped away with such a significant number of key department employees exiting the company over such a short period of time.

Numerous suppliers, many of whom already have expressed frustration in doing business with Tesco's Fresh & Easy, say they are even more frustrated by what one described as the turnstile buying department at the company.

The buying department brain drain and void also is in part to blame for the higher than should be out-of-stocks in Fresh & Easy grocery stores, although the retailer's official position has been that there isn't a problem.

Additionally, with such a dynamic passing around of buying responsibilities, as anyone who's every been a category manager or buyer is well aware, it's near impossible to properly learn a category when its in your portfolio for such a short amount of time.

Further, as those who've been category managers and buyers, along with those who've called on them know, when buyers get loaded-down with too many additional lines, they tend to end up essentially doing nothing but cutting purchase orders, which means instead of managing a category for optimized sales and gross margins, they merely are forced to become purchasing agents.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy is attempting to replace all five category manager and buyers, and as we mentioned above has hired some replacements thus far. Other changes are coming to the department as well, which we will report on as we learn more.

It appears when it comes to category management and buying at Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, things are certainly "fresh," as in lots of buyer turnover, but keeping the buyers around certainly doesn't seem to be "easy."