Fresh & Easy to Close Up to 50 Locations

Following reports that Fresh & Easy would close up to 50 locations, the grocer said in a statement that it plans to rationalize its store base and divest locations that "do not meet the criteria of Fresh & Easy's model of modern convenience."

Although the company did not provide specific locations or a timeline for the closures, the move aims to "redeploy capital in development and growth," the statement read.

As part of the efforts to transform its business model, Fresh & Easy said it's also working with ADMI, the firm behind the Apple Store, to design the "Fresh & Easy store of the future," a new concept that "represents the future of convenience retail and puts Fresh & Easy into a category of one: the only fresh food convenience store."

Following its acquisition by The Yucaipa Cos. from U.K.-based Tesco PLC in late November of last year, Fresh & Easy has launched a series of efforts to streamline its operations, including a large renovation project; the piloting of its Smarter Market concept in Las Vegas; the rollout of a new ecommerce Click & Collect service, also in Vegas; and the development of a third-party business model out of its Riverside, Calif., commissary facilities. 

El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market operates 200 stores in Arizona, California and Nevada.