Stuart Edginton, store manager of Tesco's Winchester branch, Hampshire, may have only been in charge for four weeks, but he's started his new appointment in style by scooping this week's Top Store award. Our shopper was impressed with the high level of customer service, upmarket proposition and strong availability - Tesco was the only retailer to provide all 33 items in this week's basket. The store's victory was all the more impressive given the local competition from a more centrally located Sainsbury's store and the fact that the Tesco offer is only the third most naturally suited to the area, according to CACI, Sainsbury's and Waitrose being more suited. Staff at the 45,000 sq ft store will also be pleased that with its customer service win, Tesco has been elevated to joint first place with Morrisons on our Service Champs ranking. Edginton claimed he had received no complaints about the recent price rises because consumers understood that they'd been caused by the rising cost of wheat and grain. "I have had no feedback about the price rises personally," he said. "Any shift in wheat and grain prices will affect a variety of products and I think customers realise the costs are pushed on to all retailers - not just Tesco. They seem to be willing to accept the higher prices of bread and milk."



Q&A with Stuart Edginton Store manager of the week


 


Which products are selling well? I've only been here less than a month but I have noticed that our Wine Festival promotion is going down well with customers. Winchester is quite an upmarket city with a high level of affluence and people seem to be buying wine frequently. Do you have an online service? Yes, and it is performing extremely well. We have progressed from operating six to eight vans, which means we can deliver to a wider area. Online deliveries are so popular now because they are convenient and people are willing to pay an extra £5 so they can avoid sitting in a traffic jam on the way to the supermarket. If you could change one thing about your store what would it be? I would probably change the layout. This store is 11 years old but had a revamp seven years ago. Whether it will be staff or customer facilities, or even a new mezzanine, the cycle timetable means we should get another refurb in the next 12 months. I would like to put product groups adjacent to where you would expect them to be. Despite this being a big store, we work hard to keep congestion down and have got 100% from the Tesco mystery shopper in terms of clear aisles. What's your competition like? There is a Sainsbury's store in Winchester town centre, which is small compared to our store. There is also another Waitrose several miles down the road, which is popular in an area like this. But I believe this is a destination store and people are willing to drive out of town to visit us. I plan to improve our non-food ranges to drive business further. How green is your store? Our branch is being used to trial the new Tesco recycling centres - a huge steel container into which customers drop bottles, cans and other recyclable materials. It measures what they put in and awards them Clubcard points. It is clean and never gets messy as it's changed twice a day. Everybody wins!


 


Asda Maryhill, Glasgow


1 - Our Glaswegian shopper was impressed with this Asda store as it had wide, clear aisles and pleasant members of staff. There was a pink colour theme throughout the store to celebrate Asda's Tickled Pink campaign. Availability was generally strong, but the Jacob's Creek Chardonnay was out of stock. We visited on 14 September at 9.30am. Our shop lasted one hour and five minutes. Time spent at the checkout was three minutes.


 


Morrisons Ebbw Vale, South Wales


0 - Our Morrisons shopper was surprised by the lack of special offers at this quiet store in Ebbw Vale. It was, though, tidy, busy, and the staff helped him locate some of the products. The required sizes of Persil Biological gel tablets and toilet tissue were not stocked. Eleven of the 26 checkouts were open. We visited on 14 September at 2.30pm. Our shop lasted 51 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was two minutes.


 


Sainsbury's Melksham, Wiltshire


2 - This compact store was well maintained and had a variety of produce but there were packing trolleys in some of the aisles. The McCain Smiles and Danone Bio Activia yoghurts were out of stock, and the 16-pack of Twix biscuits was not stocked. The staff were mostly friendly but the checkout operator did not say hello to our shopper. We visited on 14 September at 11.55am. Our shop lasted 50 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was three minutes.


 


Somerfield Chippenham, Wiltshire


1 - Although this store was busy, our shopper noticed that many of the floor assistants were standing around chatting. The staff in general were unenthusiastic and there were not enough checkouts operating to cope with the number of shoppers. The beef steak mince was out of stock. We visited on 14 September at 11.20am. Our shop lasted 29 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was five minutes.


 


Tesco Winchester, Hampshire


0 - This large Tesco store had fantastic availability and was spotlessly clean and tidy. The staff were eager to help our shopper and all 33 items were provided. Although some staff were completing internet shops for home deliveries, they didn't get in the way. An impressive 22 of the 24 checkouts were open. We visited on 14 September at 9.25am. Our shop lasted 55 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was seven minutes.


 


Waitrose West Hampstead, London


0 - The staff were helpful but the Waitrose outlet was being refurbished and it was hard to squeeze a trolley down some aisles. The custard slices and quiche were out of stock and the 4-pack of Cheestrings and Müller Fruit Corner strawberry yoghurt were not stocked. We visited on 14 September at 11.55am. Our shop lasted 50 minutes. Time spent at the checkout was three minutes.

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