Marketwatch Pulse: Tesco Says Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market USA to Lose $200 Million This Year

April 15, 2008
By Steve Goldstein
MarketWatch Pulse

LONDON -- Britain's Tesco said its Fresh & Easy chain that it's opened in the U.S. will lose around 100 million pounds ($200 million) this fiscal year, after trading losses of 62 million pounds in the year to Feb. 23. Tesco said it had previously forecast 65 million pounds for the past fiscal year. Tesco said it was "encouraged" by the start of the West Coast chain at its 60 stores, saying the response of customers has exceeded expectations and that sales densities are higher than the U.S. supermarket average. Its best stores exceed sales of $20 per square foot per week. It's still planning to open 150 stores this year and it's planning to expand its Riverside distribution center and kitchen operation.