Wal-Mart launches small-format stores in US

US supermarket giant Wal-Mart is set to challenge Tesco’s new Fresh & Easy concept in the US with the launch of a chain of small-format grocery stores in Arizona this year.

Asda owner Wal-Mart is understood to have earmarked four sites south east of Phoenix, some close to the locations where Tesco is setting up its discount grocery stores. They are likely to be around 20 000 sq ft, far smaller than the size of the chain’s nation-wide ‘Supercentres’.

According to reports, the stores will launch under the name Marketside and are expected to open by the summer. The new format’s logo features green lettering, with a tomato, egg and grape, along with a Wal-Mart blue star, says a Financial Times report, indicating that the stores will focus on fresh foods.

Last November, Tesco unveiled its Fresh & Easy Neighbourhood Market store concept, with packaging by Pemberton & Whitefoord and Deutsch LA, and initial brand and store design by US retail consultancy Schorleaf. Deutsch and Schorleaf co-designed all in-store signage.