LAS VEGAS -- Brit supermarket and convenience store giant Tesco's unusually stealthy U.S. expansion strategy is about to take it to Las Vegas, in addition to its previously reported plans to open stores in the Los Angeles and Phoenix areas next year, reported The Financial Times.
Commercial real estate brokers said the chain is looking for sites in Las Vegas for its planned Tesco Fresh & Easy stores. It has also registered its two U.S. subsidiariesTesco Stores West and Tesco Stores Holdingsin Nevada, as well as in California and Arizona, the report [image-nocss] said.
In Arizona, Tesco was so keen to keep its arrival quiet that it placed newspaper advertisements in May announcing "Buttoncable West," a Delaware registered corporation, was about to start a "retail sales" business in the state. A few weeks later, Buttoncable changed its name to Tesco Stores West.
Tesco announced its U.S. plans in March after conducting comprehensive market research that included a trial store in a warehouse in Los Angeles that it passed off as a film set.
Tesco has not said how many stores it plans to open in the United States, and it declined to comment to The Financial Times on its strategy for Las Vegas.
The company said in March it will invest 250 million ($476 million U.S.) a year to fund its U.S. expansion, a budget that Goldman Sachs analysts estimate should enable it to open as many as 200 stores a year, said the report.
Tesco's strategy is based on creating a range of small mini-supermarket/c-stores on sites of about 14,000 sq. ft. based loosely on its Tesco Express c-store concept in Europe. The stores will stock private-label and branded goods, as well as perishables and prepared foods.
The U.S. expansion comes as the U.K.'s biggest supermarket chain expands in its home market. The US push is part of a double-pronged effort to expand in its domestic market and abroad, the report said.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.