Fresh & Easy to close 55 stores

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Fresh & Easy plans to close 55 stores, which would leave the chain with about 110 locations, the Orange Country Register reported.

Fresh & Easy is owned by the Yucaipa Cos., which bought the supermarket chain out of bankruptcy in 2013 from U.K. retailer Tesco. It operates stores in Nevada, California and Arizona.

The stores slated for closing do not meet Fresh & Easy’s new model of “modern convenience.”



"This move allows the company to redeploy capital into development and growth, including a 3,000 to 5,000 square foot store to provide a higher level of convenience and greater density,"  Fresh & Easy spokesman Brendan Wonnacott said in the report.



In a company statement, Wonnacott said Fresh & Easy is working with ADMI, the firm behind the design of the Apple Store, to design the Fresh & Easy store of the future. He described the concept as a “fresh-food convenience store.”