Dive Summary:
- Tesco, which is the third-largest retailer in the world, announced on Wednesday that it would pull out of the U.S. market and take a $3.5 billion writedown on its global business operations.
- The move will see the company offload its Fresh & Easy stores, which Tesco Chief Financial Officer Laurie McIlwee indicated had seen "a lot of interest" from potential buyers.
- The process of selling the Fresh & Easy stores, which have not turned a profit for Tesco, is expected to take more than three months.
From the article:
"... Fresh & Easy, which trades from 199 stores and employs around 5,000, has absorbed over 1 billion pounds of capital since its 2007 launch when Tesco was run by Clarke's predecessor Terry Leahy but has never turned a profit in a market where it competes with the likes of Trader Joe's and Wal-Mart. ..."