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With Tesco entering the U.S. market and looking to compete in a number of product categories with Wal-Mart (WMT), I guess it's only fitting that Wal-Mart reach out and grab a former Tesco leader, and they did just that.

The retailing giant landed former Safeway and Tesco head Jack Sinclair to lead their grocery division. His official title will be executive vice president of grocery merchandise, said the Telegraph. He will start on Monday, January 7.

One of his key, initial roles will be helping to improve the shopping experience of its grocery shoppers in its U.S. stores.

You can't help wondering if this is also an attempt to draw information from Sinclair, in response to Tesco entering the U.S. market with its Fresh & Easy stores. They are a unique competitor to get a handle on, and represent a different threat to Wal-Mart than past or existing competitors.

The other thing that must be speculated is if this is a first step in Wal-Mart launching their own small store format to compete with Tesco, which is extremely popular in Britain. Hiring a former Tesco executive could definitely result in the taking of those actions.

While it's good to see Wal-Mart wanting to improve their grocery department, I can't help but think they're sending a message to Tesco, and possibly muddying the strategic waters to keep them off balance some. It'll be an interesting story to watch unfold.

With the small size of Tesco stores, usually about 10,000 square feet, it wouldn't be extremely difficult for them to make a fast move once they get their people in the States used to the way they operate. 

They've already hired another former Tesco executive in David Wild, who is heading up the division charged with new business development. That unit will probably be the one that responds to the Tesco challenge, and develops smaller store formats.