CALIFORNIA – U.K.-based retailer Tesco announced a November 8 opening for its first six Southern California locations of Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

The specific locations of the new convenience stores have not been revealed, but Tesco said that the new 10,000 square foot stores would be located in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, reports the Press Enterprise.

A company statement Tuesday said each of the stores will employ 20 to 30 people. Tesco will ultimately employ about 1,500 at inland California stores and another 1,500 at its distribution center nearing completion near Riverside.

The new stores will cater to time-starved shoppers who want fresh, healthy food at "affordable prices", including ready meals, organic milk and preservative-free tortillas, writes the newspaper.

The shops will be much smaller than vast rivals such as Wal-Mart. They are designed to be environmentally friendly and 60 percent of the produce is to come from local suppliers.

European chains have long tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to make inroads into the U.S. Meanwhile many U.S. retailers, squeezed by rising costs and big players such as Wal-Mart, are scaling back. Tesco will be starting from scratch, with no brand recognition, no customers, and no distribution system in place.

"Going from zero to a well-known brand in any country takes a long time, but in the U.S. it will take a lot longer," said Jonathan Pritchard, food retail analyst at Oriel Securities in London.