Tesco is set to mark its £250 million launch in the US with the brand name Fresh & Easy.
Plans for the supermarket’s first foray across the Atlantic caused controversy when they were unveiled by chief executive Sir Terry Leahy in February.
Leahy has opted to use the smaller convenience store format that has proved successful in Britain, rather than take on the giant Wal-Mart and Safeway chains.
The company has already started advertising for staff in the Los Angeles and Phoenix areas. This is the first time that details have been confirmed about the locations of the new stores.
Estate agents report that Tesco is looking for sites of about 15,000 square feet. That would make for stores that are smaller than a traditional UK supermarket but larger than the Tesco Express convenience stores.
The recruitment advertisements in the Financial Times on May 18 include one for a human resources executive able to ‘develop and implement and administer the Tesco Fresh & Easy culture’ and the ethos of ‘keeping things simple’.
LA and Phoenix are cut-throat markets for groceries in what is already the most competitive country in the world for food retail.
