"Hundreds" of Fresh & Easy Stores Needed

LONDON -- At a conference organized by Piper Jaffray Cos. here, Tesco's investor relations representative, Steve Webb, said the company will need several hundred stores in the United States to cover the costs of the company's distribution center in Riverside, Calif., Bloomberg News reported.

"We need a substantial number of stores in that area to recover the costs," said Webb, specifying that would mean "hundreds" of stores, the Bloomberg report stated. The distribution center could support "several hundred" stores within the center's radius, which would include Phoenix, according to the report.

Next month, Tesco plc, Britain's largest retailer, will roll out a new chain of grocery stores in the U.S., smaller than the typical supermarket but bigger than convenience stores, branded Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. The first stores are slated to open in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California.
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