Fresh & Easy Not Cool Enough For CA: Trader Joe's or Walmart Could Take Over Stores

Back in December the head of Fresh & Easy's parent company, British supermarket giant Tesco, said that it was "likely, but not certain" that the company would pull out of the US. Well, he's certain now. On Wednesday, Tesco will announce the end of its involvement with the LA-based market. So what's next for F&E's 200ish stores in LA and beyond? Reports vary, but City AM names the likely suspects to buy at least some of the chain's locations: Walmart, German supermarket chain Aldi (which does big business in the Midwest), or Trader Joe's (which is owned by Aldi, but run by the brother of the guy who oversees the Aldi chain in the US). Produce News speculates that if Aldi takes over the chain and moves into the LA market, some of the F&E stores could become Trader Joe's. The Guardian, meanwhile, examined all the angles and concludes that Fresh & Easy's failure was down to style: "This straightforward British value-for-money outlet simply wasn't cool enough for California."
· Tesco to pull down shutters on US venture [City AM]
· What Will Happen to LA Fresh & Easys as Chain Pulls Out of US? [Curbed LA]