Tesco has announced that it will be opening stores in the US next year, in a dramatic turnaround from previous suggestions.
Chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, who said earlier this year that the company would be putting US plans on hold, unveiled a strategy to spend an initial £250 million ($436 million) a year on a move into the world’s largest economy.
The stores will follow the Tesco Express format currently successful in the UK, with the first one due to open on the West Coast of the US.
In a statement Leahy said: "This is a tremendously exciting move for Tesco, which will add a new leg to our international expansion. It is a market we have researched extensively for many years and over the past year have committed serious resources to, developing a format that we believe will be really popular with US consumers."
Tesco currently has a total of 2,467 stores in 13 countries.
