British Tesco To Battle Wal-Mart

Tesco, the world's fifth-largest retailer, is coming to California -- and with its 546 Tesco Express stores in the UK taking up as much land as just six Wal-Mart supercenters, it could bring a new model of retail land use with it.

1 minute read

March 6, 2006, 8:00 AM PST

By David Gest

"Why does a British firm whose name sounds more like an oil refiner than a purveyor of tasty snacks and beverages think it can succeed where veteran U.S. firms have failed?"

"On Feb. 9, Tesco, the world's fifth-largest retailer, announced it would enter the United States by investing hundreds of millions of dollars to expand significantly in Californiaâ€"a state Wal-Mart has long planned to dominate."

"Like Wal-Mart, Tesco is the largest private-sector employer in its home country, with 250,000 employees. Tesco, a multinational that went public long before Wal-Mart got started, is highly profitable. But it hasn't had any business in the most lucrative market in the worldâ€"until now."

"The 546 Express stores in the United Kingdom collectively occupy 1.1 million square feetâ€"or about as much space as just six Wal-Mart supercenters."

Thanks to Daryl Kinton

FULL STORY: First, the Beatles. Now, Tesco.

Wednesday, March 1, 2006 in Slate

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