Tesco U.S close to 120 store target

Tesco’s Fresh & Easy in the USA, is poised to reach 120 stores by their  financial year end in February, which puts it about a third of the way to profitability. Tesco originally intended to create a chain of 1000 stores but revised that to under 500 in May 2008.

 

Tesco have stated that it would need to operate between 300 and 500 stores to make the operation profitable, once the infrastructure of distribution and warehousing had been included in costs.

Getting to that range has been a bit more challenging than the British retailer originally anticipated.

 

Last year, the company paused it’s store roll out to retool merchandising.

Its bare bones approach to store decor didn’t please some potential customers in the markets where it operates, now stretching from Northern California to Arizona. It also tweaked its assortments, moving away from trendier items, such as steak and blue cheese sandwiches, and introducing more American favourites, such as meatball subs.

 

The current economic downturn also had an effect. Spokesman Brendan Wonnacott said “Fresh & Easy originally planned a store opening push for the latter half of the current fiscal year but decided it would be “prudent” to maintain the same store-opening pace it set last year, one to three stores a week.