By law, the rewarding program won't be transferable but you still have time to use up the points you have accumulated so far and you'll be given chance to open up a new rewarding program account at the new owner. Though you can use your rewards, you have to use it by swiping your Friends card when you make a purchase; they cannot accept phone numbers to use rewards as usual.
On 2013-09-13, I received the following email from Fresh & Easy:
Today our parent company Tesco has announced it is selling the Fresh & Easy business to The Yucaipa Companies LLC. All along we have been hopeful that Fresh & Easy could be sold as an operating business, preserving jobs and the great shopping trip you've come to expect from Fresh & Easy.
We are very pleased that this agreement with Yucaipa preserves more than 4,000 jobs and a vast majority of the business. Unfortunately, as a result of this agreement some stores will be closing.
For over five years, all of us here at Fresh & Easy have worked hard to bring you great products and a great shopping trip at a great value. We appreciate the love and support we have received from you, our most loyal shoppers. Rest assured, we plan on working through this transition to new ownership with the same spirit and dedication that we've brought to this business since the beginning.
We are also pleased to announce that Yucaipa will be offering a Friends Rewards program just like the Friends of fresh&easy Rewards Program you already love. California state law does not allow the transfer of your personal information from the Friends of fresh&easy Rewards Program to the new buyer of Fresh & Easy, so you will be required to re-enroll in the new Friends Rewards Program over the next several weeks. By re-enrolling, you will continue to earn points on your purchases, and your existing points and rewards balance will be honored. We will be sending instructions on re-enrollment within the next few days.
If your local store is on the list to be closed in the coming weeks, you will be able to use your existing rewards until the store closes. For your convenience, we have waived the 500 point minimum for converting your points to rewards. Also, starting tomorrow, in the stores that will be closing only, all products (with some exceptions) will be 25% off and these stores will stay open until remaining stock is cleared.
For your convenience, we have provided a button below to convert your entire points balance to rewards. Once your points have been converted, you can use your rewards by swiping your Friends card when you make a purchase; we cannot accept phone numbers to use rewards. If you have lost or misplaced your registered card please ask an associate for assistance. If you have not registered your card you can still do so by following the directions on our website.
For more information please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at http://www.freshandeasy.com/friendsfaqs
Thank you again for your support and we look forward to seeing you in one of our stores soon.
Sincerely,
The fresh&easy Team