PHOENIX -- U.K. grocery powerhouse Tesco PLC has applied for 14 liquor licenses across the Valley so far this month, indicating its imminent arrival in the Phoenix metro area, reported The Business Journal of Phoenix.
As has been widely reported, the secretive retailer plans to expand into the United States early next year, including 50 stores in the Valley.
Sites in the Valley include locations in Phoenix, Avondale, El Mirage, Queen Creek, Gilbert, Mesa and Chandler, said the report. Five liquor license applications have been [image-nocss] made in Phoenix, four in Mesa, and one each in the other municipalities, it said.
The companywith U.S. headquarters in El Segundo, Calif.gathered a team that includes a national developer with a Phoenix office and a liquor license consultant, both of whom signed confidentiality agreements promising not to talk to the press, said the newspaper.
Tesco's plan is to bring its Express market format to the United States. The stores are located in the heart of neighborhoods and will be smaller than traditional supermarkets, but larger than traditional convenience stores. The stores are expected to offer fresh food choices.
The philosophy, according to a Tesco fact sheet, is to draw customers back into their neighborhoods.
Tesco currently employs 150 people in the Los Angeles area and expects to create 2,500 new jobs with the expansion during 2007. The company plans to open stores in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas next year, according to the fact sheet.
"The new format is designed for the American market, following extensive consumer research and modeled on Tesco's highly successful and innovative Express format, which we now operate in seven countries, with more than 1,000 stores serving approximately 10 million customers every week," said Tim Mason, Tesco's U.S. CEO.
A dominant retailer in the U.K., Tesco's reputation has waned despite a healthy business and share price, the Phoenix Business Journal said. Polls also show Tesco significantly outperforms competitors in online grocery ordering, said the paper.
Asked about what format the U.S. stores would be, Tesco CEO Terry Leahy said, "Well, it's hard to say too much because competitors are keenly interested, and we want customers to be the first people to see them, because they are something new. They're for the American consumer today. It's a format designed just for the American consumer after a lot of research. It's loosely addressing the convenience market, which is a big market in the U.S. We now have a strong team in the U.S. We have started building the central distribution network, and the first stores will open in 2007."
In mid-December, the Orange County Business Journal, reported that Tesco plans to open stores in Fullerton and Laguna Hills, Calif., and is looking at several other Orange County spots as part of its U.S. push.
The 14,000-square-foot Fullerton store is planned for in a 50,000-square-foot shopping center proposed for the site, according to Matt Stowe, chief operating officer of Lake Development Group in Newport Beach, which is developing the center.
In Laguna Hills, city officials have approved a plan for a 14,000-sq.-ft. Tesco store at Moulton Plaza, Vern Jones, community development director, told the paper. The building is set to go up within the next year near the entrance to the center, he said.
Tesco also has talked with Orange officials about a former grocery store site, but has not submitted plans yet, Robert Garcia, a city planner, told the paper.
The company has scouted sites in San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point, according to city officials there. They are looking at anything and everything, developer Stowe said.
Tesco spokesperson Greg Sage told the Orange County Business Journal that the company is evaluating 300 sites in Southern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.