creating value for customers at fresh & easy

I've always had a simple belief that no business has the right to exist just because it's been around for a long time - it can only exist if it creates enough value for customers today...tomorrow...next week...next year.

After talking to many people, we designed fresh&easy to do just that. It's always good to hear when we're achieving it. Take Arizona student and travel enthusiast Amarone, as an example.

Or Katrina, from Tucson, AZ, who writes about her second visit to our store. Of course, those coupons come in really handy, especially with gas prices as high as they are.

Photographer Beth, from Seal Beach, CA writes about some of her favorite products and her discovery that fresh and healthy food is accessible, and affordable at fresh&easy. That's exactly what we're trying to do - offering better, fresher food, while saving you money at the same time.

One last shout out goes to our friend and fellow foodie, Oakley, whose many blogs talk about her experiences and recipes using f&e ingredients. Thanks for the feedback!

Want to participate in the online conversations about us? Check out Chow Hound to read what others have to say. You can also share your thoughts and tell us directly what you think about our stores, our service, our products or indeed, anything else that takes your fancy.

After all, it's only by listening that we can create enough value for you, not just today, but also tomorrow. We then continue to earn our right to exist, and you get a better shopping trip.

It really is that simple... but that, of course, is how it should be.....

fresh&easy in Compton - 100 days on

The opening of our store in Compton last February was one of those very special moments that will stay with me for a very long time - we were made to feel so welcome.

100 days later, it's great to see that it's proving a simple point.

Although it was the first new grocery store to be built there in a generation, it's performing just like any of our other stores.

It's attracting a broad mix of customers, and it's business is being built on fresh foods - 10 of its 20 top selling products are fresh produce, some organic, and more than 75% of its sales are our own brand, all of which has no artificial colors or flavors, no added transfat, and only uses preservatives when absolutely necessary.

As I've said before, in our experience, if you offer fresh, wholesome foods at prices everyone can afford, in a clean environment with friendly service, people will shop with you.

Compton again demonstrates the point.

And that, of course, is how it should be.....

Save on gas at fresh & easy

No, we don't sell gas at fresh&easy.

But looking at the feedback we receive, we clearly save people money on gas.

How can that be?

The explanation goes right to the heart of why fresh&easy exists.

Right back at the beginning, when we started talking to people about food shopping, we found they wanted to shop in their neighborhood, preferably in one store. But they felt compelled to shop in a number of stores, often some distance away - to seek out fresher, more wholesome and authentic food, as well as to make their budget go further.

So they helped us design fresh&easy, to give people what they wanted - fresh, wholesome, authentic food, alongside their favorite brands, all at honest low prices, right there in their neighborhood.

Of course, our customers save money just by buying their food from us.

But I've been struck by how many emails we've had from customers, amazed at the time and money they're saving, because they no longer have to drive around to so many stores.

Good for their pockets in these harder times, but also, by shopping locally and saving on gas, good for the environment.

A win-win if ever I saw one.

And that, as ever, is how it should be.....

food for thought at fresh & easy

One of our core beliefs is that everyone deserves access to fresh, wholesome food that they can afford.

So we're always pleased to hear from our customers on how we’ve helped them with this.

For example, Kevin writes about his constant quest to find healthy foods for his family on Web Goonies. We’re delighted our stores could help, as he writes in Fresh & Easy Indeed. Incidentally, it’s also worth a look at Web Goonies’ healthy recipe for apple nachos …a snack that both parents and kids can probably agree on…

We simply think that food should be fresh, and not mucked around with - that's why all our own brand products have no artificial colors or flavors, and only use preservatives when absolutely necessary. Perfect for family cooks like Rookie Cookie, who enjoy making their own recipes and meals from high-quality items.

Of course, developing products and selecting assortments is all about listening to customers. So it’s really helpful when Moms like HazelEyesSue offer reviews of our products, or customers like Shelly give a top ten list of her favorite products and qualities about our stores.

Please keep letting us know what you think of our products and our stores. That way we can continue to make our shopping trip better and better for you.

And that, as ever, is how it should be.....

solar fixation at fresh & easy

Not a new album from Shakira (although there's only one extra letter!).

Rather, I've been completely blown away by the live solar link that we've added to our website.

In real time, you can see the amount of solar energy we're producing from the solar roof covering our depot at Riverside, and how much of the depot's power it's actually providing. It's really quite cool, check it out.

I've always believed that engaging, encouraging and informing people is the way to change behavior: after all, no-one gets out of bed with the intention of destroying the planet.

So things like this, and the way we packed groceries in our stores in reusable bags on Earth Day, are just little ways of trying to do this.

Judging by the response we got yesterday, it works.

And that, surely, is how it should be.....