Tesco is set to open an office in Chicago as it anticipates expanding its Fresh & Easy stores beyond the West Coast, The UK Independent reported.
The UK retailer has property executives who are poised to move to Chicago to identify potential locations for a distribution center and store location in and around Chicago, the UK publication reported.
The news is the clearest evidence yet that Tesco intends to gain geographical spread in the U.S. beyond the 71 Fresh & Easy stores already operating in southern California, Arizona and Nevada.
Tesco has lined up Matthew Price, a real estate director at Fresh & Easy, to head its property acquisition team in Chicago. Dunnhumby, which operates Tesco’s Clubcard, has an office in Chicago, but it is unclear when Fresh & Easy will open there, the UK publication reported.
"At the moment, our focus is very much on the west coast and opening stores there,” a Tesco spokesman said.