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Tesco winning fans in America
Nick Goodway13.05.08
Tesco's gamble to break into the US grocery market with its Fresh & Easy chain is winning over customers, according to independent research.
The chain has been criticised by analysts, and Tesco suspended new openings for a time in March to give staff "time to kick the tyres".
But consultants Execution Research interviewed 700 customers outside stores in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix and found a strong positive reaction to the chain.
"Fresh & Easy is the new cult retailer," the firm said. "At the risk of doing the job of Tesco's public relations department, F&E is already an incredible success story."
Some analysts had claimed that Tesco's £250 million-a-year investment in the US was far from successful. One of the most vociferous critics, Mike Dennis at Piper Jaffray, claimed the chain had a "negative feel, too different or ahead of its time".
But Execution found shoppers rated the chain ahead of both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in terms of freshness, and even beat Wal-Mart for value for money.
Execution said that it expects shopper numbers to grow from the current 20-30 per hour as brand awareness increases.
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It will be very hard to beat trader Joes for price and choice, I don't believe that they have spent enough on advertising as still no one has heard of them or where they are located, a great idea hope it works for fresh and easy/tesco,
- David Coyle, San Francisco
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