The British are leaving, the British are leaving!
Fresh & Easy stores in Napa and beyond will soon be sold or closed, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
What are Napa shoppers saying about the news? Read their Facebook comments at Fresh & Easy Closing? Napa Shoppers React
Owned by Britain's Tesco, the 199-market grocery chain never quite caught on with American consumers.
Analysts said the recession was partly to blame—Fresh & Easy debuted in California, Nevada and Arizona in 2007, just as the economy was tanking. But, ultimately, shoppers didn't warm to the concept.
"Though it attracted a small group of loyalists, Fresh & Easy largely failed to capture the imagination of American consumers who proved unaccustomed to British-style ready meals, self-service cash registers and unfamiliar store layouts," the Journal said.
Tesco's CEO told the paper: "It's likely, but not certain, that our presence in America will come to an end."
Offers to buy all or part of the chain are already trickling in, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Fresh & Easy's locations include Mountain View, Pacifica, Napa, Sunnyvale, two in Hayward and three each in San Jose and San Francisco.
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Everywhere I have lived since 1990 has had a Trader Joe's. I am used to having one around.
Here is the breakdown on these taxes: •The employer and employee each pay 7.65%. Breaking these percentages down further: •The OASDI (Social Security) portion is 6.2% (4.2% in 2011), up to the annual maximum wages subject to Social Security. •The Medicare portion is 1.4% on all employee earnings. The Social Security portion is capped each year at a set amount; the Medicare portion is not capped. For 2011 only the employee portion of FICA tax has been reduced by 2%. The employer portion is not reduced. http://biztaxlaw.about.com/od/glossaryf/a/FICAtax.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-05/five-wal-mart-vendors-made-clothes-at-burned-bangladesh-factory.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/wal-mart-bribe-probe-follows-decade-of-sex-bias-overtime-suits.html http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/business/wal-mart-concedes-bribery-case-may-widen.html?pagewanted=all http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20120801.htm
This is about Fresh & Easy and the possible void it will leave if they close. It is a great store selling great value fresh healthy products. Something very radical here.