BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is considering acquisitions in its home market as it seeks to open smaller stores and limit its reliance on giant supercenters for growth, the Financial Times reported in its online edition, said Reuters.
The move is seen as a response to the imminent opening in the United States of Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, the report said.
The world's largest retailer is seeking an executive to assess the "strategic implications of any possible M&A on our overall portfolio," [image-nocss] according to a Wal-Mart job posting cited by the Financial Times. The position is part of a new team that will develop a "comprehensive multi-format growth strategy" for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer, said the report.
Mike Griswold, a retail analyst at AMR Research, told the newspaper that the news "reinforces my view that Wal-Mart is taking Tesco very seriously.
Click here to view previous CSP Daily News coverage on Wal-Mart's efforts to develop a smaller-footprint store.
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