Winner: Sainsbury’s Ladbroke Grove
Store manager: Phil Jeal
Opened: 1993
Size: 40,000 sq ft
Market share: 11.9%
Nearest rivals: Tesco - 2 miles, Waitrose - 2.1 miles, Asda - 4.7 miles, Morrisons - 4.8 miles
Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000
How does it feel to win store of the week? I’m over the moon. To be a chosen store on a busy Saturday in an area like Ladbroke Grove is particularly rewarding, especially as we work so hard in this store. I think it’s a great testament to all the hard work and effort that has been put in.
This is the fifth week in a row that Sainsbury’s has won. What’s its secret? I have to say our suppliers and buyers have done a terrific job in ensuring great availability. Until the sunshine came out you didn’t know what was going to happen with the weather. They’ve done us very proud.
How has the scorching weather affected sales? All the usual summer suspects have sold well - soft drinks, sun cream, frozen foods such as chicken and sausages, barbecue coals, garden chairs. We’re talking in the region of almost 1,000% [growth] week-on-week from when there was no sunshine to now. The business is 7% or 8% up year-on-year - which is a substantial figure in this environment.
How did you cope with the increased demand? Ice proved tremendously popular - we bought this in abundance and pre-loaded - although we struggled to keep up with demand for ice cream.
Another person celebrating this week was the Duchess of Cambridge, following the birth of her son. Were your customers in a cheerful mood? Tuesday is not usually a key day for alcohol sales but Champagne flew out of the store. Customers were also buying magazines galore - anything with a royal picture.
The Notting Hill Carnival is around the corner - is that something you embrace? Yes. Our store is right in the middle of it. We’ll go massive on all our Caribbean ranges and we get local suppliers in to do sampling. We also cordon off an area and the local school clubs come in and play their calypso music. It’s a real party atmosphere.
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