The founder of British low-cost airline easyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, opened his first ‘easyFoodstore’ low-cost supermarket in north-west London earlier this month, attracting huge crowds with its ‘25p (48¢) per item’ offer.
EasyFoodstore sells a range of 76 products, meaning that a shopper could buy all of the goods on offer for less than £20 ($38.73).
Prices will eventually rise in March, most probably to about 50p (96¢) per item – but the plan is to launch a new ‘easy’-branded player that sits between food banks and discount retailers.
In its first week of opening, the budget outlet was forced to close for one day after selling out of stock. Since then, it has instigated a purchasing limit of 10 units of the same item per day.
In 2013, Mr Haji-Ioannou said his interest in the food retail market was sparked by the widespread use of food banks in the UK, as well his philanthropic foundation’s operations in Greece and Cyprus, where it hands out free lunchtime snacks to the needy.
The entrepreneur has also said he saw a gap in the UK food retail market “a niche below some of the current budget operators such as ALDI and Lidl”.
