The pause that refreshes?

Here is coverage from The San Francisco Chronicle about the pause in the opening of Fresh & Easy stores.

A nod to the Pundit, who was the first source quoted.

"The more stores they open, the more money they lose," said Jim Prevor, a food industry consultant who writes the Perishable Pundit blog. "I believe there's good reason to believe they will fail ... (unless) the company is willing to rethink the whole concept."

Later....

Food industry consultant Prevor, who puts Fresh & Easy's weekly sales figure at around $50,000 per store, said the markets aren't drawing adequate foot traffic because they don't carry enough items for all-in-one shopping trips and U.S. consumers aren't yet familiar with the Fresh & Easy brand.

He added that he spoke to Fresh & Easy vendors who have been working for more than a year to meet the company's projected volumes. Last week was the first they had heard of any planned break in store opening.

TK: "The more stores they open the more money they lose" seems like an incredible bout of conclusion-jumping by PP. However, since Fresh & Easy isn't releasing sales figures, the company can't really dispute critics with any significant data. Those who are heavily invested as F&E naysayers can now comfortably take credit no matter if Tesco sinks or swims here in America. In a sense, Tesco should not be unhappy about the attention it is getting from all concerned.

Consider this gem from William Arthur Ward:

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”