Tim Mason, the chief executive officer of Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood operation in the US, has hinted that the retailer may look beyond the west coast in order to expand its network.

Mr Mason indicated that the group would look towards Chicago and the Midwest US when it feels that it had maximised the desired number of stores across California, Nevada and Arizona. When asked whether Tesco was ruling out a move beyond the west coast until after 2012, Mr Mason told The Financial Times: 'I wouldn't say that. We wouldn't do anything else until we have explained how we are doing here.'

Additionally, Mr Mason said that Fresh & Easy has proved successful, despite a wave of criticism from industry experts and analysts who claimed that the group had suffered poor opening results.

In the interview, he said that the decision to bring in Jeff Adams as operations director of Fresh & Easy was merely with an eye to future growth, rather than attempt to stabilise a struggling business.

'We have always known we will need more executive vice-presidents in operations because this country is so big that as soon as we got into a new geography we will need someone to run it, so we have brought him in a little early,' Mr Mason explained.

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