The rollout of Tesco’s Fresh & Easy format in the US is being slowed as a result of the country’s economic issues.

Tim Mason, the head of Tesco’s US venture, told The Times that plans to expand the Fresh & Easy chain into northern California could be put on hold.

He said: “The industry is in a very different place than when we came out and did the feasibility research three years ago. Then the US consumer confidence index was at the highest level it had ever been. In October, the US consumer confidence index was the lowest it has been since 1967, so it’s a big change.

“We will still open stores every week, but it’s prudent to slow things down a bit,” Mason told the newspaper.

Tesco had initially planned to open 200 Fresh & Easy stores by February next year, but now that target has been pushed back to November 2009, said Mason.

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