Clearly others followed suit, as this morning a notice appeared on EasyFoodstore’s website informing shoppers it would be closed for the day to allow time to restock its plain-stacked shelves.
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Haji-Ioannou first announced plans to open a discount food store in August 2013.
easyFoodstore N. London: I’m 126th in Q with 1 hour wait to enter.
Have you visited the store?
Bargain-hunting Brits laid siege to the store to snap up kitchen staples such as beans, teabags, pasta, ketchup, cookies and tinned vegetables. Stelios Haji-Ioannou has opened a discount grocery in northwest London, called EasyFood, offering canned sardines, soups and pasta for a mere 25 pence (36 cents) _ for a limited time only.
But it still seems to be a work in progress, with a range of just 76 products against 30,000 at a large supermarket, and no meat or fresh fruit and veg available.
That may change at the end of February, with the easyGroup spokesman saying that prices may be increased to 50p, depending on the results of the trial. “We think there is a niche below Lidl and Aldi where we can make money and provide the paying public with good, wholesome food”.
But the store – which has the slogan “No expensive brands”.
One shopper reported seeing a family spend £27 during their visit, despite everything being priced at just 25p.
He said: “This is another way the easy brand can serve the less well-off”.
“It is dependant on the success of our new shop in Park Royal, and finding the rights spots elsewhere”.
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The pilot store is the latest entry in a fiercely competitive grocery market, with discounters Aldi and Lidl posing challenges for the traditional “big four” of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons.
