How do you compete against your nearest rivals? Tesco in Corstorphine added a mezzanine floor last year so it has a really good range of electrical goods. We have a smaller range so it’s important that we do our best on availability and make sure the range we do have is interesting. 

Which deals are selling well at the moment? The 3-for-£10 promotion on wine is selling really well. The electrical event at the weekend, when we were selling Sanyo TVs from the foyer, was very successful and health and beauty gifts are doing well. Showcasing the Extra Special fresh range is a big focus too.  Your store’s availability was much better than competitors’.

How did you achieve this? Availability has been a big focus for us in the past couple of weeks. The managers have held daily meetings with process colleagues where we discuss how many out-of-stocks we have, whether there are any common themes, and agree what’s important to focus on. At the end of the day, if customers can’t get what they’re looking for they’ll go elsewhere. 

What’s the most challenging part of your job? Keeping pace with the change. We’re always landing new ranges and new service initiatives so it’s keeping pace with that and motivating the team to deliver the changes to a high standard. 

How have the Christmas coupon booklets been received? They’re helping to drive footfall into the store. We’re trying to maintain our customer base and entice them to stay with us through the busy Christmas trading period. The discounts are on popular products and the £5-off Champagne has had a particularly good uptake. 

How did your store cope with the release of Kinect last week? We had about 50 people queuing up for the midnight launch. We brought in extra colleagues on the night and managed to stay in stock. The music and video game business is really building at the moment so we’ve put in a night shift to cope with demand. It’s important to get availability right for entertainment too. 

How does your store work with the community? We have a fantastic record of charity fundraising and have raised nearly £10,000 for Tickled Pink this year. Colleagues paid to come to work in fancy dress over Halloween and customers made donations too. Last weekend we staged a George fashion show for Children in Need. We also had Pudsey bear visit for kids to have their photo taken with. We raised £400 and sold quite a bit of clothing on the back of it. 

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