Fresh & Easy Hits 50

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market today opened the doors to its 50th store, located in Palm Desert, California. Since opening its first stores in November 2007, Fresh & Easy has brought fresh, wholesome foods at affordable prices to neighborhoods throughout Southern California and in Nevada and Arizona.

Fresh & Easy is a company of Tesco, the UK's largest retailer and one of the largest international retailers. Tesco is investing over $2 billion in the U.S. over five years.

"Opening our 50th Fresh & Easy is an important milestone for us," said CEO Tim Mason. "We are very encouraged by the response from our customers and new neighbors. We are excited to continue bringing fresh, wholesome food at affordable prices to all types of neighborhoods."

Last month, the company announced an expansion into Northern California, with 18 stores in the Bay Area slated to begin opening in 2009. An announcement of store locations in the Sacramento region will occur by the end of the month.

Fresh & Easy will open an additional three stores by the end of the week -- one in North Las Vegas and two in Henderson, Nevada.

About Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

At roughly 10,000 square feet, these neighborhood markets are smaller than the typical supermarket to give customers a faster, easier shopping experience. In addition to offering a range of Fresh & Easy private label and national brand name products at low prices, Fresh & Easy also offers customers a selection of fresh, prepared meals.

Fresh & Easy has gone to great lengths to ensure all its private label products contain no added trans fats, artificial colors or flavors, and have limited amounts of preservatives. Deliveries are made daily to each store to ensure all products are as fresh as possible.

Each Fresh & Easy store employs approximately 25 people. The company interviews on-site at each store location, aiming to hire from the local neighborhood. Fresh & Easy intends all store employees work a minimum of 20 hours a week or more, which ensures they are eligible for comprehensive health care and other benefits. Entry-level positions will pay well over the minimum wage and offer a potential bonus of up to 10%.

As part of the company's commitment to be a good neighbor and friend of the environment, Fresh & Easy has committed to build LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified buildings, recycle or reuse all shipping and display materials, and voluntarily joined the California Climate Action Registry to disclose its greenhouse gas emissions. The company also invested in California's largest solar roof installation on its distribution center in Riverside.

More information regarding Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market can be found at http://www.freshandeasy.com.

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

CONTACT: Brendan Wonnacott, Office, +1-916-554-3466, Cell,
+1-310-384-3833, for Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market

Web site: http://www.freshandeasy.com/