Fresh fears over the health of Tesco's fledgeling business in the US have emerged amid claims that suppliers are 'disenchanted' and had no idea that the supermarket giant was going to call a three-month halt to its expansion drive. The Times

Jim Prevor, one of the most influential commentators on the supermarket sector in the US, added that Tesco's Fresh & Easy chain needed a major strategic overhaul if it was ever going to be a hit with American shoppers.

He said: 'They are doing horribly. There's no question they have made some mistakes and they are still making them.'