Great offers, exceptional customer service and an immaculately clean and tidy store helped Asda in Corby land our Top Store award this week, after providing an impressive all-round shop.
Deputy commercial manager Lynne McCann said that an upbeat attitude towards the store’s 560 employees was key to success.
“It’s about being positive about everything,” she said. “We praise and show our staff what has been delivered after a hard day’s work to help them understand what we do and why.”
The store has proved a hit within the community after making an appearance in the local paper just last week for donating £1,200 to its Sporting Chance candidate, who aims to take part in the 2012 Olympics in archery.
A back-to-school fashion show was also held for schools in the area, as well as a healthy-eating initiative involving school pupils, parents and the NHS.
“A nutritionist walked children and their parents around the store teaching them about a balanced diet,” said McCann. “It taught them about the nutritional values of different foods, and what is good and what is bad to eat.”
The store is fortunate not to have any main rivals close by and is the second most-suited retailer to the area. The closest is Morrisons, located on the other side of town. Though there were lots of c-stores nearby, they were not a threat, said McCann.
Q&A with Lynne McCann Deputy manager of the week
How is your store becoming more environmentally friendly?
We recently came top out of all the Asda stores nationwide for producing the least waste. We are really strong and stringent on sell-by dates to ensure products are of a satisfactory quality. We have to be energy-efficient so we try to save energy whenever we can.
What products are selling particularly well at the moment?
A lot of fresh fruit as we have lots of promotions on at the moment, especially 50p lines. British strawberries have been selling particularly well at £1 per punnet. Coca-Cola has sold really well as it is on offer, with a 24-pack of cans selling for £5. Sales of camping lines have been fantastic since the summer started. We sold tents ranging from two to six-man and there are none left now.
How do you and your staff socialise outside work?
We have lots of functions and fun days for the staff and their families. We recently held a summer fun day with a bouncy castle but had to have it indoors because of the weather. A lot of the managers live locally and each of the areas have regular nights out. Everyone goes out of their way to make the effort, which is great.
How do you deal with theft?
Our company policy is to prosecute every thief. We have a strong security team and we try to deter thieves with a security presence wherever possible, and we call the police in cases of offence. We have had more incidents recently with the credit crunch, as it pushes more people to steal. We tag our large meat joints. Most of the time we don’t feel the need to tag many items. It doesn’t give a good impression to our customers.
How fast is your online service growing?
We make between £40,000-£45,000 a week from our home-shopping service, which is getting on for a quarter of our total sales. The service is growing well compared with what we originally expected. We are 20% ahead of our business plan.
This week a year ago the winner was...
Waitrose in Eastbourne scooped our Top Store award last year with its bright and modern-looking branch and focused and approachable staff.The store has had an excellent year since then and has become well established in the area, said store manager Duncan Waller.
“We had only been open eight months when we won the award,” he said. “We have seen fantastic sales since with double-digit growth.”Staff at the store had also undergone customer service training in the past year, he said. This had resulted in a 94% satisfaction score in a mystery shopper survey. Waitrose’s Community Matters scheme is also being launched in the store in the next week.
Deputy commercial manager Lynne McCann said that an upbeat attitude towards the store’s 560 employees was key to success.
“It’s about being positive about everything,” she said. “We praise and show our staff what has been delivered after a hard day’s work to help them understand what we do and why.”
The store has proved a hit within the community after making an appearance in the local paper just last week for donating £1,200 to its Sporting Chance candidate, who aims to take part in the 2012 Olympics in archery.
A back-to-school fashion show was also held for schools in the area, as well as a healthy-eating initiative involving school pupils, parents and the NHS.
“A nutritionist walked children and their parents around the store teaching them about a balanced diet,” said McCann. “It taught them about the nutritional values of different foods, and what is good and what is bad to eat.”
The store is fortunate not to have any main rivals close by and is the second most-suited retailer to the area. The closest is Morrisons, located on the other side of town. Though there were lots of c-stores nearby, they were not a threat, said McCann.
Q&A with Lynne McCann Deputy manager of the week
How is your store becoming more environmentally friendly?
We recently came top out of all the Asda stores nationwide for producing the least waste. We are really strong and stringent on sell-by dates to ensure products are of a satisfactory quality. We have to be energy-efficient so we try to save energy whenever we can.
What products are selling particularly well at the moment?
A lot of fresh fruit as we have lots of promotions on at the moment, especially 50p lines. British strawberries have been selling particularly well at £1 per punnet. Coca-Cola has sold really well as it is on offer, with a 24-pack of cans selling for £5. Sales of camping lines have been fantastic since the summer started. We sold tents ranging from two to six-man and there are none left now.
How do you and your staff socialise outside work?
We have lots of functions and fun days for the staff and their families. We recently held a summer fun day with a bouncy castle but had to have it indoors because of the weather. A lot of the managers live locally and each of the areas have regular nights out. Everyone goes out of their way to make the effort, which is great.
How do you deal with theft?
Our company policy is to prosecute every thief. We have a strong security team and we try to deter thieves with a security presence wherever possible, and we call the police in cases of offence. We have had more incidents recently with the credit crunch, as it pushes more people to steal. We tag our large meat joints. Most of the time we don’t feel the need to tag many items. It doesn’t give a good impression to our customers.
How fast is your online service growing?
We make between £40,000-£45,000 a week from our home-shopping service, which is getting on for a quarter of our total sales. The service is growing well compared with what we originally expected. We are 20% ahead of our business plan.
This week a year ago the winner was...
Waitrose in Eastbourne scooped our Top Store award last year with its bright and modern-looking branch and focused and approachable staff.The store has had an excellent year since then and has become well established in the area, said store manager Duncan Waller.
“We had only been open eight months when we won the award,” he said. “We have seen fantastic sales since with double-digit growth.”Staff at the store had also undergone customer service training in the past year, he said. This had resulted in a 94% satisfaction score in a mystery shopper survey. Waitrose’s Community Matters scheme is also being launched in the store in the next week.
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