Fresh Ideas

Looking at images from Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, I can't help but wonder what the big deal is.

I've been tracking the retail scene for five years now, and the marketing world for a little more than a decade. I'm still not going to profess expertise on effective methods of shopper motivation, so I'll readily defer to the universally respected strategists at Tesco.

But couldn't they at least have polished the cement floors?

Part of my less-than-awed reaction to the launch was a natural response to my heightened expectations. For all of 2007, Wall Street analysts and trade publications have been heralding Tesco's arrival as a "revolution" in food retailing and a "new paradigm" for the retail industry. It would have been nearly impossible for any store to live up to that hype.

Still, at a time when most U.S. retailers are busy developing richer, more experiential environments that, for the most part, are panning out, Tesco has chosen to do little more than stock products on shelves. The "environment" Fresh & Easy is shooting for appears to be an intended lack thereof.

Fresh & Easy's focus, instead, is on the product selection, which bets heavily on the belief that mainstream U.S. consumers - not just the advanced thinkers who've been shopping Whole Foods for years -- truly want healthier food choices. Many of the signs in Fresh & Easy deliver that message: "without artificial colors," "no added trans fats," "certified organic."

Another main communication strategy presents a corresponding concern for the environment, with signs explaining the use of recycled shipping materials, energy-efficient lighting, sustainable product sources.

The other major theme explains the chain's Spartan design a little bit. "We carefully limit our product selection to make shopping easier," states one side panel. Another explains that the chain offers no loyalty cards or product coupons, "just honest, low prices for every one every day." I guess you can call Fresh & Easy the USA Today of healthy eating.

Tesco's strategy is a leap-frog of the existing U.S. market, in which Wal-Mart, Target, Safeway, Delhaize America and other leading companies have been gradually introducing healthier food alternatives, eco-friendly store designs and more "editorial" merchandising at pace with what they feel the market demands. Whether or not Tesco is making too great a leap will prove out at the register, and I'll certainly give the company the benefit of the doubt.

But I still think they could make the floors look a little nicer.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

Members: More information here.

Store Check: Tesco's Fresh & Easy
Neighborhood Market

The most anticipated retail event of 2007 took place on Nov. 8, when U.K.-based Tesco entered the U.S. market by opening its first Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets in Southern California. The store's minimalist design doesn't immediately explain why other food retailers have been so apprehensive about this launch. But the chain's simple strategy -- "fresh, wholesome food at affordable prices" -- has some industry analysts anointing it as a new paradigm for the marketplace. The Institute's coverage includes more than two-dozen photos courtesy of in-store intelligence agency Carroll Media Services.

Members, view the store check.

Retailer Profiles: Safeway, Delhaize America

In the last few years, Safeway has undertaken an ambitious -- and, by all accounts, successful -- renovation program that transforms its supermarkets into "Lifestyle" stores better addressing shopper needs. Changes have been even more dramatic at Delhaize America, where the Kash n' Karry chain was resurrected as Sweetbay and the massive Food Lion -- nearly 500 doors in North Carolina alone -- is being transformed into three concepts with targeted customer bases. Our updated Retailer Profiles of these companies includes more than 125 recent images from stores.

Members, view the profiles: Safeway | Delhaize America

Desktop Marketing Conference:
"Achieving Impact at the Point of Decision" by Craig Apatov of Miller Zell

Engaging shoppers in a world of growing media fragmentation and increased private-label competition requires deeper insights into trip missions and the effect of store environments on purchase behavior, says Apatov, chief marketing & client strategy officer for Miller Zell. In a presentation from the In-Store Marketing Expo in September, Apatov uses executions from Coca-Cola, Suzuki, Johnson & Johnson, Tylenol, Crayola and other brands to illustrate how insightful in-store activity can generate trial and repeat purchase.

Members: View the presentation.

Research: Center Store Revival by Information Resources Inc.

A new Times & Trends report from IRI offers positive news for packaged goods in the supermarket channel where, despite the heavy focus on perimeter perishables in recent years, center store sales are holding their own. The Institute's coverage includes articles and images illustrating the trends IRI points to for the revival: health and wellness positioning and private label development on the part of retailers, and product, packaging and merchandising innovation from CPGs.

Members: View the research.

Welcome New Institute Members

The In-Store Marketing Institute is delighted to welcome new and renewing members to the Institute family. Below is a list of the companies that signed up recently. Welcome aboard.

• Alcone Marketing Group
• Ambrosi & Associates
• American Licorice Co
• Beiersdorf Inc.
• Compass Display Group
• Creative Carton
• Design Phase
• Epson America Inc.
• FHC - Fixture Hardware Company
• Fleet Laboratories
• Fluke Networks
• GFX International Inc.
• Great Northern Consumer Packaging and Display
• Hamilton Partners
• Henkel North America - The Dial Corporation
• Idea Planet
• Ideal
• Infokiosk S.r.l.
• Information Resources - Mosaic
• JohnsonDiversey Inc.
• Larson Manufacturing
• Levi Strauss & Company
• Meridian Display
• Milmour
• MindShare
• National City Bank
• Perrigo
• PODO
• Rubbermaid
• Saatchi & Saatchi X
• Sara Lee Food & Beverage
• Segerdahl Graphics
• Summit Mfg.
• Technical Maintenance Support Inc.
• Temple-Inland Display and Packaging
• The Carlson Group Inc.
• The Marketing Store Worldwide, L.P.
• The Topps Company Inc.
• Tool Box Store Metrics Brazil
• TPH Global Solutions
• Young & Rubicam