Organisational Behaviour and Market Analysis teach us that very small things, reported in anecdotes and trivia, can indicate fundamental problems with a company’s strategy. And I think this quote might well be the one that kills Tesco’s American ambitions.

To British ears, Fresh & Easy sounds like an Americanised version of Fresh & Wild, a famous London wholefoods supermarket. But Stateside it appears to conjure up a somewhat less appetising image…