This is Morrisons’ third win in four weeks – why do you think that is? I think it is the new HOT initiative really coming into effect. We are really getting our act together.
How about at your store? We have a fantastic camaraderie here – this win is a real team effort. It was half term last week so we had a lot of people on holiday and the team really pulled together to ensure we maintained our standards and service. Everyone digs really deep.
How were Halloween sales? We sold through everything. The masks and the fun-size bars have been really popular. We had half-price on the Cadbury range – normally you sell more fun-size over Halloween than over the rest of the year put together.
You are right next to Swansea City FC. Does that make some Saturdays a bit busy? Saturdays are just amazing when they are playing at home. We sell twice as many sandwiches and the café is unbelievably busy, but we can prepare for it. Last week, Scott Sinclair came in to sign Match Attax trading cards. We sold three times as many cards as any store in the company. The queue went around two sides of the store.
You have a lot of local competition. How do you tempt the locals into your store? Our customers know they can trust us. We have great deals, great availability, great customer service every time. It’s about consistency. We are always trying to do more to please our customers – we recently extended our opening hours by an hour to 10pm.
Are Morrisons Millions and the Big Price Crunch boosting trade? It’s hard to measure. Price Crunch Payday – when we time loads of promotions to coincide with payday – always goes well. We also launched the Christmas collectors card this week. Our customers love that. You spend £40 six times in the eight-week run-up to Christmas, then we give you a £25 voucher to spend.
What else about your store are you particularly proud of? We just try and give our customers great value. Our current focus is half-price. And we have such a quality fresh offering. There has been a great reception for the M Kitchen ready meals and on a smaller scale we have launched a range of traditional British beef.
What does that involve? It is a limited number of premium cuts of beef. They retail at a premium price, but it is not excessive and they are selling really well. Like the ready meals, we are trying ranges we have never done before. Now is a great time to work at Morrisons. We are determined to make it a success.
Steve Wyeth, deputy store manager at Morrisons Swansea, was talking to James Halliwell
