Tesco may sell US chain Fresh & Easy after strategic review

Tesco is considering selling off its loss-making US business Fresh & Easy, announcing it will conduct a strategic review of the retail franchise.

Fresh & Easy’s chief executive Tim Mason is leaving the business, as Tesco revealed it has had a number of approaches from potential acquirers. Tesco CEO Philip Clarke said Fresh & Easy “will not deliver acceptable shareholder returns on an appropriate timeframe in its current form.” Like-for-like sales performance from the US franchise fell below 2%, according to Tesco’s third quarter results. Fresh and Easy was launched in 2007, but investors have increasingly called on Tesco to exit the business, into which it has pumped more than £1bn in a bid to compete with US rivals such as ...