What's Eating Fresh and Easy?

As one of the people who gave Fresh and Easy a positive review when the supermarket chain opened here last fall, I can nonetheless also understand why they're not doing as well as they'd hoped.

The stores, for starters, are way too industrial and not inviting in the least. They're also, quite simply, an odd size -- bigger than specialty stores like Trader Joe's, but smaller than a typical supermarket. It leaves people wondering, What is this place?

Now that the Tesco-owned chain has halted its ambitious store opening campaign for now, LABizObserved has its own theories. Also, via LABizObserved, here's what the U.K.'s TimesOnline says:

Jim Prevor, one of the most influential commentators on the supermarket sector in the US, added that Tesco's Fresh & Easy chain needed a major strategic overhaul if it was ever going to be a hit with American shoppers. He told The Times: "They are doing horribly. There's no question they have made some mistakes and they are still making them."

Mr Prevor said that Fresh & Easy needed to give far more space to popular American brands rather than use its own brand on most products. He added that packaging had to be cut back and more staff should be American. "Americans are different from Brits and the stores will be more successful if Americans make the decisions," he said. "Besides, Tesco could use the British team back in the UK."

I'm not sure I agree; it's the original products that standout; otherwise, I might as well hit Ralphs or Vons for the usual stuff. They need to play up the original products as an alternative to Trader Joe's: Their chicken tortilla soup is delicious and inexpensive; I also like their blue corn jalapeno crackers. I'm thinking store location, the inside appearance, and a lack of awareness among consumers -- not to mention an identity problem -- are the real culprits. The American brand issue, less so -- it's not a problem, after all, for Trader Joe's.