Asda Queensferry

The cleanliness of the store and efficient parking were both commended by our mystery shopper. Are these attributes you work hard to achieve? I only started this job two weeks ago but I’ve been very impressed by the hardworking staff. They are committed to making the store sparkle and every shelf is handled with care. I also make sure staff members do not park in the customer car park so there is as much space as possible. Deeside is a challenging area as we have three Tesco stores within seven miles and a Sainsbury’s just six miles away. We aim to be the best.

So, just two weeks into the role, is it now more of a challenge to determine what to improve after this win? Definitely, but then you could say The Grocer has made my job easier as a lot of my role will be continuing on the same path. I am looking at taking the job back to basics and the key for me is to improve availability while having staff that provide a genuinely warm and friendly service.

What sales trends are you seeing in the build-up to Christmas? This year, people are looking at their purchases a lot earlier. On the toys front, we are seeing massive demand for Furbys and I expect stocks to sell out very quickly. With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One about to launch, gaming will also see strong demand.

And will online continue to grow over the gift-giving season? Definitely. Click and collect is on the up. I expect us to trade significantly more year on year on that side this Christmas. More customers are going online at Christmas so we need to be prepared so it doesn’t take us by surprise.

Finally, what are you looking forward to most in your first full year as general manager? Retail is moving so quickly, but I think the growth around home shopping and click and collect will be enormous within Asda next year. I’m interested to see how customers continue to shop.