Grocery wars begin:

 U.K.'s Fresh & Easy announces

 18 new Bay Area locations

Four stores planned for South Bay
By Blanca Torres
Bay Area News Group
Article Launched: 01/30/2008

The British invasion of Bay Area grocery stores has begun: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Stores on Wednesday announced the locations of 18 Bay Area locations that are planned to open in 2009.

Stores in the South Bay will include two in San Jose at Bird Avenue and Minnesota Street and Almaden Expressway and Curtner Avenue; one in Sunnyvale at Tasman Drive and Fair Oaks Avenue, and one in Mountain View at Middlefield Road and Rengstorff Avenue.

Other locations include Antioch, Concord, Danville, Fairfield, Hayward, Napa, Oakland, Oakley, San Francisco, Vallejo and Walnut Creek.

The chain, owned by U.K.-based retail giant Tesco, operates grocery stores in a small format, around 10,000 square feet, that focus on fresh and prepared foods at low prices.

"We are delighted to be here," said Tim Mason, chief executive of Fresh & Easy, at a press conference in Oakland Wednesday morning.

"(The Bay Area) is an area of growth that is receptive to change and it has great weather." Mason said the chain carries products that don't contain added trans-fats, artificial flavors and contain as few preservatives as possible. It also carries a variety of organic produce and natural foods such as cage-free eggs and hormone-free meats. About half of the store's products are proprietary brands.

"We provide great prices customers can trust at prices they can't believe," Mason said. He's referring to pricetags like $9.99 per pound for filet mignon, 90 cents Advertisement for a 12 ounce bottle of mustard and $4.99 for a package of 8 mini
Mediterranean pizzas.

Tesco, one of the world's largest retailers, operates more than 3,200 stores in 12 countries and created the Fresh and Easy concept specifically for the American market.

So far, the chain has opened 37 stores in Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. They expect the number to reach 50 cities by the end of February. Fresh and Easy stores measure up to about one-fifth the size of a typical grocery store, but despite the small dimensions, Mason said shoppers can buy all of their groceries there.

Many industry experts predict Fresh & Easy will bring heavy competition to an already tight grocery market with its low-prices and convenience-oriented format. Pleasanton-based Safeway has discussed testing out more petite stores and Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer, opened two stores earlier this month in Arizona in response to Fresh & Easy's U.S. expansion.

"Our competition is anyone who's in the neighborhood," Mason said. "Anybody who's in the food business."

Mason also emphasized the chain's focus on hiring good workers. Most of Fresh & Easy stores hire between 20 and 30 people. Wages start at $10 an hour in California and healthcare benefits are available to those who work at least 20 hours a week.