Wal-Mart Stores Inc says its new Marketside stores could expand to a chain of more than 1,000 stores with more than $10 billion in annual sales, a business daily reported, citing a job posting for the retailer, which the newspaper said was subsequently removed.

A Wal-Mart spokesman, when contacted for comment, said that Marketside is a very small-scale pilot project, and that the world's largest retailer has no firm plans for it beyond that.

Wal-Mart will open four Marketside stores in the fall in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, according to the community grocery store concept's website. The newspaper's online report said the retailer plans to open 10 of the 15,000-square-foot (6,000-square-meter) Marketside stores initially, including the four in the Phoenix area.

A job advertisement for the retailer said the Marketside format "is expected to start with 10 stores and evolve to between 1,000 - 1,500 stores with over $10 (billion) annual sales," the newspaper reported. The posting was subsequently pulled from Wal-Mart's website, the newspaper added.

Wal-Mart has said earlier it is developing the Marketside stores to attract shoppers looking for a quick option to purchase fresh groceries.

The new store concept comes after British supermarket rival Tesco Plc entered the US marketplace last year with its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets in California, Arizona and Nevada.