LAS VEGAS -- At a press conference at the Wynn Resort in Las Vegas this morning, Tesco PLC will officially announced plans to enter the Las Vegas market with up to six new Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets as part of its initial entry into the U.S. marketplace. The company will also present the exterior of its stores.
For invited guests including local elected officials and local and state business and industry leaders, Fresh & Easy CEO Tim Mason will discuss the company's regional growth plans, as well as its commitment to offering high quality, [image-nocss] affordable products and being a good neighbor and employer.
The British retailer has identified sites across the valley, and it has filed "location suitability applications" with the Clark County Business Licensing Department for a half-dozen locations, county spokesperson Stacey Welling told The Las Vegas Business Press.
"No business licenses have been approved at this point," Welling said. Three of the locations have received preliminary board approval, the report said.
The first store will debut at 8650 W. Tropicana Ave. The company signed a 20-year, $4.7 million lease to occupy 14,253 square feet of space inside Gatski Commercial's new eight-acre complex. Other sites identified by Tesco for Fresh & Easy include 6105 W. Tropicana Ave.; 3186 S. Nellis Blvd.; 467 E. Silverado Ranch Blvd., and at Desert Inn and Fort Apache roads. A 14,000-sq.-ft. Fresh & Easy is already under construction at Tropicana Avenue and Jones Boulevard, according to the paper, citing industry sources.
Greg Sage, Tesco's international corporate affairs manager, confirmed that the U.S. stores will be similar to Trader's Joe or Wild Oats, said the report. Tesco has a food distribution center in Riverside, Calif., which will supply stores in Las Vegas, San Diego and Phoenix. Tesco is the world's third-largest grocer and fifth-biggest retailer.
Sage was guarded about the company's plans. "We don't want to give away too much at this point," he said. "Las Vegas has great opportunities. It is a very fast-growing market." He is confident Fresh & Easy will prove to be a hit both in Las Vegas and nationally. "We've been looking at the United States for 20 years," he said, with a closer study of the market over the last 18 months.
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