Tesco debuts in L.A. with sleek look, fresh meals

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British grocer Tesco made its U.S. debut on Wednesday by throwing open the doors of a sleek, modern Los Angeles store stocked with a larger helping of fresh, ready-to-eat meals than at traditional supermarkets.

Tesco will officially open six "Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market" locations in Southern California on Thursday, but held a grand opening party at one store in L.A.'s Glassell Park neighborhood Wednesday evening.

At the event, reporters were given their first look at the much-anticipated Fresh & Easy, which industry experts have predicted could cause a shake-up of the world's largest and most competitive consumer market.

The company plans to have about 200 stores in the Western United States by the end of February of 2009, Fresh & Easy Chief Executive Tim Mason said. It plans to open in Las Vegas and Phoenix in the coming weeks.

Fresh & Easy's Glassell Park store, which is about a quarter of the size of a traditional U.S. grocery store, has an industrial look, with concrete floors and high ceilings.

Nearly half the store is stocked with refrigerated ready-to-eat meals, such as carne asada, wild mushroom risotto and beef lasagne, or other fresh fare.

About half of the store's products are private label.

London-based Californian Allyson Stewart-Allen, author of the business book "Working with Americans," said Tesco's experience with producing ready meals could provide it with a strong advantage over local players.