Asda Supercentre, Basildon: Grocer 33 store of the week

How has online shopping changed operations at the store? This is one of the very few Asda Supercentres that doesn’t have home shopping. But the growth in click & collect has been absolutely astronomical. We’re talking about year-on-year growth of over 60%.

How are you coping with such a surge in click & collect orders? This week we’re launching a new smartphone app, which will mean we’ll be able to track customers on their way to the store. It lets our staff know when they are on their way, so we will be able to meet them at the door with their goods.

Asda has been ramping up its vegan and vegetarian lineup. How has that landed? We’ve seen a massive increase in our free-from range. In ambient it’s grown by about 75% and we’ve now moved fresh and chilled into one area of the store. We are getting a great response - and not just from vegans and vegetarians.

How much are you looking forward to the ‘golden quarter’? If you don’t enjoy this period coming up you shouldn’t be in retail. It’s our golden quarter conference in Birmingham this week. It’s a great chance for all the store managers to find out what the company’s plans are for the period running up to Christmas. It’s great to see the products and get a sense of what we think will work in our stores.

Is it true you have been selling Easter-branded Toblerones? Yes it is true - but it was a mistake. A member of staff unpacked a box that didn’t have labelling on the outside and hadn’t realised the bars were labelled as Easter. They have been taken down now.

How do you stop speculation over the merger with Sainsbury’s affecting staff? The management have done a fantastic job of keeping us informed about the process. Obviously it’s now in the CMA’s control but I think the main thing is for us to have the same transparency with staff as the management has shown to us.