Due to the many requests I am starting to send out my Newsletter again. Thanks to all of you who sent e-mails asking why you hadn’t received your copy.
By Jonathan Birchall in New York and Tom Braithwaite in,London
Published: February 27 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 27 2008 02:00
Tesco, the UK supermarket group, has insisted its US expansion plans are on track, amid growing speculation that the initial performance of its new Fresh & Easy discount grocery stores concept has fallen short of expectations. Mike Dennis, an analyst at Piper Jaffray in London, became the latest commentator to question the success of Tesco's launch in the US.
He wrote in a note to clients that the 50 stores opened so far around Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix could be averaging sales of $170,000 a week, against what he said were planned initial sales of $200,000. Mr Dennis argued that the slow start would hit Tesco's longer-term earnings projections.
Tesco said in a statement yesterday that the stores were "proving very popular". It added: "What we are seeing is growing sales, growing customer numbers." There have been widespread anecdotal reports in the US that the small neighborhood groceries, similar in concept to an Aldi hard-discount store, have been failing to attract customers at the rate needed. In December, Jack Brown, chief executive of Stater Brothers, a supermarket chain in southern California, said his stores had seen "almost no impact" from the first 20 Tesco stores that opened in his stores' territory
Mar 6, 2008 6:00 AM, By ELLIOT ZWIEBACH
ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Sales in the food-sundries and fresh categories at Costco Wholesale Corp. here led all other product groups during the second quarter, which ended Feb. 17, Richard Galanti, executive vice president and chief financial officer, told analysts yesterday during a conference call to discuss the company’s financial results. Produce had the strongest comparable sales, followed by deli, he noted.
