Supermarket giant Tesco is to take on the world’s largest retailer Walmart by launching in the US next year.
The group said it would launch on the West Coast of America through the development of a new convenience format in 2007.
Tesco said the growth of the business would be through organic growth, with an initial planned capital expenditure of up to £250m per annum.
Property and marketing director Tim Mason will move to the US to lead the expansion.
The new convenience format has been designed for the American market, following extensive consumer research and modelled on Tesco’s Express concept, which it now operates in five countries, with over 800 stores serving around eight million customers every week.
Tesco said international growth formed a key element of its strategy and that the business now trades in 12 countries outside the UK, mainly in Asia and Central Europe.
Over half of Tesco’s selling space is now outside the UK.
Chief executive Sir Terry Leahy said: “This is a tremendously exciting move for Tesco which will add a new leg to our international expansion.
“The United States is the largest economy in the world with strong forecast growth and a sophisticated retail market.
“It is a market we have researched extensively for many years and over the last year we have committed serious resources to developing a format that we believe will be really popular with American consumers.”
References: EGi News 09/02/06
