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Tesco to open 60 new grocery stores in three counties in Southern California

LOS ANGELES – 10/25/07 – Giant grocery retailer Tesco will open 48 new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets across Southern California's Inland Empire region and an additional 12 in ten communities in Los Angeles County.

The company will both build and acquire structures to house an aggregate 480,000 square feet of store space in the Inland Empire and is already half-way toward the completion of a 820,000-square-foot distribution center in Riverside to accommodate the new stores.

The Inland Empire markets will each occupy 10,000 square feet of newly constructed space, or will open in converted facilities, such as former Albertson's grocery stores.

The Inland Empire located about 30 miles east of Los Angeles and encompasses parts of both San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The region, like much of Southern California, is experiencing a growth spurt that has resulted in increased demand for both commercial and residential development.

The population in the Inland Empire has grown by nearly 740,000 since 2000, bringing the total to 4 billion in 2006 with some 48,000 jobs created in the region last year, a 3.9% annual growth rate.

Los Angeles County is also at the top of the company’s $2 billion, five-year US expansion strategy as the company will open the doors at 12 stores in Lakewood, Compton, Hollywood, West Covina, Arcadia, San Dimas, Glendora, Norwalk, La Mirada, and Eagle Rock by the end of next month.

According to a company newsletter, the new Fresh & Easy stores will stock prepared and organic food and everyday items, such as Italian pasta, fresh strawberry preserves and Latino pastries.

Taking cues from Costco and iconic grocery retailer Trader Joe's, the new Tesco stores will reportedly offer food samples on a kitchen table in each outlet, and will feature Wachovia Bank automated teller machines (ATMs).

Responding to a question from the media about how Southern California-headquartered Trader Joe's is reacting to Tesco's arrival, a spokeswoman for the company provided a corporate statement saying, "We at Trader Joe's are simply focused on getting better at what we do every single day; we're not concerned about what other retailers say and do."

Headquartered in Chesthunt, England, Tesco is the largest retailer in the UK and is one of the top three retailers in the world with more than 3,200 stores in 12 countries including Ireland, China, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Malaysia, and Slovenia.

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