Wal-Mart plans fall opening for Marketside stores

NEW YORK, June 25 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) has launched the website for Marketside, the small, community grocery store concept that the discount retailer is developing, and it plans to open the first locations this fall.

Wal-Mart will open four Marketside stores in the Phoenix area, and they will feature "a wide selection of complete meal solutions, fresh ingredients, and everyday favorites at affordable prices," according to the website.

Wal-Mart has stayed mostly quiet on its plans for Marketside. The new store concept comes after British supermarket rival Tesco (TSCO.L) entered the U.S marketplace last year, opening Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets stores in California, Arizona and Nevada. Fresh & Easy will open its 62nd store on July 2.

At a briefing with reporters earlier this month, Wal-Mart said it is developing the Marketside stores to lure shoppers looking for a quick option to buy fresh groceries.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, head of Wal-Mart's U.S. division, said Wal-Mart shoppers might shop at the company's large supercenters once a month and go to its grocery-based Neighborhood Markets once a week, but would use Marketside for quick trips to buy perishables.

He said the stores will feature a smaller assortment than a traditional grocery store and will focus on fresh goods. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Richard Chang)