Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market officials added 10 stores to their expansion plans in the Valley.
Brendan Wonnacott, a Fresh & Easy spokesman, said the new stores are in various stages of opening, but it’s too early to pinpoint exact dates.
The chain, owned by the United Kingdom-based Tesco grocery store company, has plans for more than 160 stores throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. The company originally announced plans for 27 stores in the Valley, but will increase that number to 37. So far, Fresh & Easy has opened 15 metro area locations.
Wonnacott wouldn’t say if the existing stores in Arizona are profitable. “It’s very early on and we’re seeing increases week to week,” he said.
But, to some food industry watchers, their success is evident.
“Normally it takes two — usually closer to three — years for a food store to turn a profit. We expect these Fresh & Easy stores — because they’re getting such great productivity per property — to turn a profit in about 150 to 200 days,” said Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of the grocery consulting firm Strategic Resource Group.
New locations
• Gilbert and Chandler roads in Chandler
• Gilbert and Guadalupe roads in Gilbert
• Gilbert Road and Southern Avenue in Mesa
• Higley and Queen Creek roads in Queen Creek
• Pima Road and Union Hills Drive in Scottsdale
• Scottsdale Road and Shea Boulevard in Scottsdale
• Baseline and Kyrene roads in Tempe
