What’s going on with the empty shelves at Tesco’s new Fresh & Easy stores?

This is the initial feedback I’m hearing from customers who’ve trekked to stores in Anaheim and Los Angeles. Many are finding slim pickings of the store’s much-hyped takeout foods.

After visiting the west Anaheim store on opening day last week, I suspected this might happen. I saw dozens of shoppers snapping up everything from pre-packaged Greek salads to heat-and-serve mushroom risotto.

Fresh & Easy spokesman Brendan Wonnacott said takeout meals have been “flying off the shelves.”

“We’re delighted at how well received they’ve been,” said Wonnacott, who is in Las Vegas for the Wednesday grand opening of five Fresh & Easy stores in that area.

He asked shoppers to be “patient” as the British grocer tries to adjust inventories over the next few days to meet demand.

Let’s hope Tesco makes those adjustments quickly because there’s nothing worse than disappointing shoppers on their first visit.  (To see some photos of empty Fresh & Easy shelves taken by blogger Ellen Bloom, CLICK HERE.)

To read more stories on Tesco’s Fresh & Easy stores, CLICK HERE.

Fresh & Easy locations: The next store to open in Orange County will be Nov. 28 in Laguna Hills at 23719 Moulton Parkway.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 at 2:15 pm and is filed under Fresh & Easy, Grocery convenience, Nutrition, Tesco. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.