U.K. retailer readies for push into U.S.

U.K. retailer readies for push into U.S. Britain's largest retailer, Tesco, is planning an initial foray into the U.S. grocery market later this year, with a series of openings targeting several western states, a Tesco spokeswoman said Thursday.
   Tesco said in a statement that the planned stores would open in Arizona later this year.
   The British retailer is also looking to open other stores in Las Vegas, as well as the competitive Los Angeles and San Diego markets in Southern California. It has secured 20 sites around Phoenix for its initial stores.
   Tesco has expanded aggressively in recent years and opened its first Tesco-branded store in China last month. It also runs retail operations in Hungary, Poland, Japan and Thailand, among other countries.
   Tesco is already investing heavily in the venture, with construction of a new $13 million, 500,000-square-foot distribution center in Riverside under way.
   Tesco has also recruited more than 150 employees for an El Segundo facility, and the British retailer expects to create more than 2,500 new jobs as its planned stores begin opening their doors to consumers.