Hey, Tesco, Where's the Organic Food?

Includes 2 updates: March 6 & 17, 2008...

I visited the Fresh & Easy store at 7380 S. Eastern @ Warm Springs (early 2008).

New store, but very sterile, impersonal - or should I say: the personality of a cold empty storage facility.

I found almost no organic food at all.

Couldn't bring myself to buy anything. And was glad to leave.

I think the only reason for me ever going to another Fresh & Easy is just to report if anything has changed.

ALSO:...

1. What Secrets about Tesco did the BBC discover?
2. Why have Tesco's Fresh & Easy store openings been far from easy?
   

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UPDATE - March 6, 2008 -- As I was returning from Sedona, I visited the new Fresh & Easy store in Henderson at 1400 S. Boulder Hwy.

This store seems brighter and less dreary than the one on S. Eastern (see above). And I was surprised by the selection of organic food.

Only a few organic fruits & vegetables. But I did find organic coffee, corn chips, milk, yogurt, eggs, cheese and some other things. Also some meats labeled 'natural'.

What was most surprising was Amy's products with very low prices.

• Amy's Frozen Pizza: $5.94 (about $6.69-$7.99 elsewhere).
• Cheese Enchiladas: $2.54 (about $3.59-$3.890 elsewhere). For more perspective, these Enchiladas were priced at $5.29 in Sedona, AZ.

Unfortunately, I got the impression that low prices for Amy's products was a temporary. I'd be surprised if they were still in the store at these prices in 6 months.

So...Fresh & Easy a replacement for Trader Joe's or Whole Foods? I doubt it.

But they might become a 7-11-like last-minute shopping option.

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UPDATE - March 17, 2008 -- Visited both stores today. Prices of Amy's Frozen Pizza still $5.94. Price for Cheese Enchiladas has gone from $2.54 to $3.39, compared to $3.59-$3.89 elsewhere).

Hey, Tesco...How Are those 'Fresh & Easy' Stores Working for Ya?

Watching food-giant Tesco launch their 'Fresh & Easy' stores has certainly been entertaining.

Soon after the U.K.-based Tesco announced their $2-billion five-year plan to expand into the U.S. market, Wal-Mart -- the world's largest retailer -- announced they had hired David Wild, a former international managing director of Tesco, "to come up with plans to torpedo the British group's debut in America."

Apparently, Tesco had a pretty good idea. And good ideas draw competition.

Tesco's concept covered all the politically correct bases...

• They planned to heavily promote organic produce and their 'ready meals' (very popular in the U.K.) to "urban shoppers" in the U.S.
  

• Their private brand would have no artificial colors or flavors, no added trans fat, and minimal preservatives.

• Food would be delivered daily in environmentally friendly trailers, and date-coded to assure customers that the food was really Fresh & Easy.

• They'd create neighborhood-oriented mini-supermarkets that met LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards - meaning environmentally friendly GREEN buildings.
  

• They'd recycle and re-use shipping and display materials.

• And they invested in California's largest solar roof installation on their distribution center in Riverside.

Of course, this strategy also put them in almost direct competition with two more 800-pound gorillas: Whole Foods (which just gobbled up Wild Oats Markets) and Trader Joe's (which is a virtually unstoppable marketing machine).

Then in October, 2007, BusinessWeek contributed the following:

"But before the first outlet is even open, local unions and community activists are pressuring the company (Tesco) to live up to its promises—including paying decent wages, minimizing environmental impact, and locating stores in underserved areas."

Oops!

And...

"In August, the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College took Tesco to task for only locating 10% of the stores announced so far in poor neighborhoods."

Fast forward to the present with 50 Fresh & Easy stores open in California, Nevada & Arizona -- how are they doing?

A February 24, 2008 post at Fast Food Maven says Tesco sales at Fresh & Easy have been very disappointing so far.

"Prevor — a well-known supermarket industry insider and food writer — estimated that each store is averaging weekly sales of $50,000. That’s well below the goal of $200,000 projected initially by Tesco, he said. His data is based on dozens of interviews with Fresh & Easy managers, customers and suppliers in California, Arizona and Las Vegas."

Trade mag Perishable Pundit has a series of articles analyzing Tesco's challenges & problems in America.

The BBC produced 2 shows about Tesco & 3 other supermarket chains in the U.K. You might need a strong stomach for some of it.

Whole Foods - Wild Oats Merger

Wild Oats store locations have been added to the Whole Foods website.

But as of March 1, 2008, the Wild Oats stores still have 'Wild Oats' signage out front.

Wild Oats staff people say the Wild Oats stores are going through extensive and fairly costly makeovers. The number mentioned was $1.5 million per store - no official confirmation of this yet.

Whole Foods says this about the merger:

"We expect that over time, you will see some great products and services currently offered in the Wild Oats stores make their way into Whole Foods Market stores and vice versa as a result of combining the best of both companies. Also, the Wild Oats Markets stores will eventually be re-named Whole Foods Market."

To me, there are a couple of very obvious changes at both Wild Oats Markets.

• The produce sections look fresher and more alive, feeling more like the displays at the Whole Foods stores.

• The staff seem more pro-active about asking: "Can I help you find something?" and then walking me to the product I'm looking for. Wild Oats staff were helpful before, but I don't remember them being quite this energetic.
  

• The Whole Foods 365 brands and Border Grill items have found their way onto Wild Oats shelves, along side some Wild Oats branded merchandise.

I hope this continues. Wild Oats had some excellent products & services (fresh juice bar, frozen pizzas, the new deli sandwich recipes, and their baked goods: specifically their cookies & muffins).

So this is the best of both worlds for me right now. And it seems like Whole Foods is really trying to fulfill their promise:

"We are committed to improving upon the already unparalleled level of service, amazing selection and attention to detail. By joining the strengths of two natural and organic foods pioneers, we see an opportunity to deliver a wider selection and a more robust, authentic shopping experience."

Organic Food Providers in Las Vegas: Names & Addresses

I've compiled the names and addresses of the major organic food providers in three file formats: TXT, CSV and XLS (Excel). Also: see locations mapped at end of this post.

Click or right-click to download to your laptop, iPOD or smart phone.

Las Vegas Organic Food - TXT format

Las Vegas Organic Food - XLS (Excel) format

Las Vegas Organic Food - CSV format

Files include:

• business name
• general valley location (sort key)
• address
• phone number(s)
• hours of operation.

By default, the data are sorted by general valley location. so you can see what's near your current Las Vegas location. Of course, you can sort the data any way you like once you download it.



Not included in these downloadable files:

• Listings from LasVegasRestaurants.com
• Fresh & Easy stores

Last Updated: June 28, 2008

Rainbow's End Health Food Store

CityLife's investigative journalist George Knapp writes a 'buyer beware' warning in his October 11, 2007 column (toward end of 'Other Stuff'):

"If you're going to shop at Rainbow's End health food store, make sure you check the dates on everything you buy. A lot of the stuff that's been sold at the East Sahara Avenue store in recent months is long outdated. I'm talking about food items. And when customers take these items back to the store, instead of getting immediate refunds, they're advised to contact the manufacturers instead."

from: Knappster's Column in Las Vegas CityLife


View Larger Map

Beware of Weight Sensors in Hotel Room Refrigerators

If you plan to use the hotel room refrigerator to store your organic food, be sure you understand the hotel's policy.

Daniel Terdiman on CNET blogged about his stay at The Mirage in his July 18, 2007 post:

"...the fridges are now equipped with motion sensors, the helpful woman at registration told me. That is, if I move a drink to make room for something of my own, it'll charge me. If I accidentally knock something over, it'll charge me. If I put something of my own on top of something, it'll charge me. ...[also]...the registration woman told me that the maid would remove my food anyway."

from: "Vegas Gets You with Weight Sensors in the Fridges"