Wal-Mart puts up fresh fight with Tesco

BENTONVILLE, Ark. Wal-Mart is taking on Tesco with a new small-format store designed to compete with Fresh & Easy, Tesco's first U.S. venture, The Financial Times reported today.

According to The Times, Wal-Mart is opening its new stores quietly in Arizona under the trade name "Marketside." The paper reports that because Wal-Mart does not have to consult the public as it does with its larger Supercenters, it will have an easier time integrating its Marketside stores into cities and states where growth traditionally has been tough.

The new stores reportedly measure about 20,000 sq ft, a fraction of the size of the Supercenter stores.

Though Wal-Mart did not say it was competing with Fresh & Easy, The Times reported that its new logo, featuring green lettering with a stylised tomato, egg and grape topped by a Wal-Mart blue star, suggests the format will focus heavily on fresh foods.

The Times wrote that the stores are likely to debut this summer.