Tesco in the United States

The Manhattan Beach Fresh & Easy store was the first store that the company opened after a self-imposed three-month halt announced in April, 2008.

Tesco had entered the US in November 2007 with small format grocery stores called Fresh & Easy, designed exclusively for the American market. Although the company opened its first stores only in November 2007, there had been reports in US-based newspapers since early 2005 on Tesco's pre-launch activities such as conducting market research, negotiating leases, purchasing land for a distribution center in Moreno Valley, California, and establishing its US headquarters in El Segundo, California.

Although Tesco had thoroughly researched the US market and the American shopper and developed what it felt was a foolproof entry strategy, initial reports suggested that its US operations had met neither the shoppers' expectations nor its own. The company was criticized for its small assortment, its overemphasis on private labels, and its aggressive expansion. In April 2008, Tesco announced that it would halt its expansion in the US for the next three months. The company wanted to pause and make changes to its strategy based on customer feedback and its experience in the market. According to some sources, the company was forced to do this as sales had fallen far short of expectations...