Environmentally correct

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market recently announced the arrival of the first in its fleet of distribution trailers that, similar to its store locations, will showcase the company's goal to be a good steward of the environment.

“Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is in a unique position to deliver fresh, affordable, high quality food into the neighborhood in which we operate and to do so safely and in the best interest of the environment,” said Tim Mason, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market chief executive officer. “As a new company in the United States, we have had the opportunity to work with leaders in ‘green technology’ to create, from the ground up, an entire fleet of aerodynamic, fuel efficient, and neighborhood-conscious trailers in our first round of manufacturing.”

A highlight of the bright-white trailers includes a hybrid refrigeration vector unit that minimizes the amount of diesel used to safely cool and transport store products. All Fresh & Easy trailers will include automatic refrigeration shut-off when optimum temperature is reached inside the cooling chamber, as well as a complete engine shut-off once parked at the stores. Electrical stand-by technology will minimize the impact on the environment by using no diesel fuel to run refrigeration units on the trailers while parked at the distribution center.

In addition to maximizing fuel efficiency and reducing their CO2 footprint, the trailers are designed to reduce audible noise by 66 percent. For example, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market trailers will contain roll-up doors rather than lift gate trailers to minimize noise. Drivers will be committed to a zero-noise policy in the truck cabs while unloading at stores.

Specific site “route mapping” will ensure community safety by limiting deliveries during school hours and/or along major pedestrian traffic areas. Fresh & Easy is also regulating distribution times in accordance with its good-neighbor standards.

The trailers are bright white and contain the company's green Fresh & Easy logo. The website address www.freshandeasy.com lies across the back of each trailer.

Tesco is the United Kingdom's largest retailer and one of the world's leading international retailers, operating in more than 2,800 stores across 12 countries and employing more than 370,000 people. Earlier this year, the company announced that its Fresh & Easy chain of grocery stores will be roughly 10,000 square feet in size — intentionally smaller than the usual supermarket in order to give customers a faster, easier shopping experience. The company is focusing on the Greater Phoenix area, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

“Our company has enjoyed strong success in countries throughout Europe and Asia, and we are excited to bring that success to America,” Mason said. “We believe the Greater Phoenix region is an excellent place to begin that journey.”

Tesco has grown from a market stall, set up by Jack Cohen in 1919. The name Tesco first appeared above a shop in London in 1929. There have been several phases of growth for Tesco. During the 1990s, the company was successful in the United Kingdom by investing for customers and pioneering many innovations. In 1995, Tesco began to expand overseas and operates in Ireland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Sovakia, Turkey, China, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand. The company opened the first Tesco-branded store in China this year.