Fresh & Easy Aims for 200 Locations by 2009

Las Vegas Tesco’s new U.S. venture, Fresh & Easy Neigborhood Market, plans to grow to 200 locations by February 2009, according to a Reuters report.

Three weeks after launching the company’s first batch of stores in Southern California, Fresh & Easy’s CEO Tim Mason said he saw “enormous possibility” in the chain’s opportunities. “We want the stores to be no more than two miles apart so no one has to travel more than a mile to get to a Fresh & Easy,” he said.

The company also plans to open a second U.S. distribution center, in Northern California, in the city of Stockton. Similar to Fresh & Easy’s first warehouse, located near Los Angeles, the center would be able to serve up to 500 stores.