Sainsbury's Inglis Green Road, Edinburgh: Grocer 33 store of the week

How does being in such a new store affect your job? It’s a beautiful environment and everything works. All the colleagues were recruited from the local area too - it has meant quite a lot for the local community.

What’s the next change in the pipeline? In eight weeks’ time we are opening a new Edinburgh online hub, which will be based in this store. We will handle deliveries for a radius of about 20 miles. We’re recruiting 45 new staff.

How will having online change the store? The addition of online will put a real buzz into the store. We may also be getting a wider range and offering services like same-day delivery so it’s very exciting. We are about to go through all the training to get us ready.

How has new technology affected your job? Last Friday we started using the new iPads issued to managers. I’ve been a store manager for the past 15 years and I think it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. The amount of time it saves on things like getting rid of paperwork is phenomenal.

What other changes have you had recently? About 16 months ago they clustered supermarkets with convenience stores so the c-store around two miles away now has a manager who reports to me. Convenience is extremely fast and there is a petrol station at that store so it’s been interesting to get to know a different environment.

Is that the biggest challenge you’ve had as a manager? I’m a Glaswegian and I’ve worked for Sainsbury’s for 25 years, but the past two years is the first time I’ve worked in Edinburgh. It is a very different experience.

What Scottish products have been going well recently? There’s been a big trend towards Scottish craft beer and gin. I can’t believe how fast the gin market has been growing. There’s been a lot of distilleries opening and it’s not just an old-fashioned drink any more.