UK's largest retailer Tesco PLC announces that it intends to enter the United States through the development of a new convenience format, beginning on the West Coast in 2007.
The development of the business will be through organic growth, with initial planned capital expenditure of up to £250 million per year, which will be funded from existing resources, with break-even expected by the end of the second full year of operation.
Tim Mason, currently their Marketing and Property Director, will move to the US to run the business, remaining on the PLC Board.
The new format is designed for the American market, following extensive consumer research and modelled on Tesco's highly successful and innovative Express concept, which they now operate in five countries, with over 800 stores serving around eight million customers every week.
International growth forms a key element of Tesco's four part strategy and the business currently 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.
Today's announcement represents a strategic move into another developed market, complementing their entry into the emerging Chinese market in July 2004.
It will allow them to build their position in the world's largest markets, and brings the population of markets they operate in to 2.1 billion people, contributing over 55 percent of global GDP.
Tesco Chief Executive, Sir Terry Leahy, commented:
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