Store Manager of the Year: Paton's swift staff training wins him manager award

After an incredibly tense afternoon of judging, the coveted store manager of the year award was scooped by George Paton, store manager for Sainsbury’s in Livingston.

Speaking to The Grocer backstage, while holding his trophy, Paton said he was delighted to have won the award, and paid tribute to his Sainsbury’s colleagues.

“I am over the moon to have been given this award, this is absolutely fantastic,” he said. “I’ve had a great day and a wonderful evening and I want to thank my colleagues in Livingston, because it is my people that have done this for me. I am only standing here because of my store and my people. They have won this.”

Paton also promised a night to remember for his staff once he gets back to Scotland.

“I will take this trophy back to the store in the morning and then we can celebrate together,” he said. “There will be one hell of a party in Livingston tomorrow!”

The judges were particularly impressed at how Paton had swiftly trained up staff at the new store, which opened in 2010. Out of 290 staff, 285 were new to Sainsbury’s when it opened. But it is now among the top 10 performing stores across the entire Sainsbury’s estate.

“Since we opened the store, we have overcome a lot of challenges together, there has been a lot of training and a lot 
of engagement about how we could do things better and continue to improve,” said Paton. “But in the end we have won this award because I have a great shop run by great people - it’s as simple as that.”