Britain's largest retailer Tesco is to make its first venture into the US through a West Coast convenience store start-up scheduled for 2007.
Tesco said it would invest up to £250m a year in the as-yet-unnamed chain, which it expects to grow organically and break even by the end of its second year of operation.
Chief Executive Terry Leahy said he was very excited by the move, although it remains to be seen how shareholders react to the venture into what has in the past been a graveyard for UK grocers.
'A strength of Tesco is that we don't just plant a format and hope that it works well. We think this will bring something new to the American market,' he said.
Tesco's US stores will be based on Tesco Express which operates in five countries, with over 800 stores serving around eight million customers every week.
Tesco said the US grocery market is worth $600 billion a year and was expected to grow 40% over the next five years.
Tesco has had a team in the US for a year. Its start-up there will be run by Tim Mason, currently Tesco's marketing and property director.
