Sainsbury's Longwater, Norwich: Grocer 33 store of the week

This is the store’s fourth win - what makes it so successful? It’s massive, bright and modern with very spacious aisles and everything from grocery items, to clothing, garden items and electricals. The environment is a lovely one to shop, as well as work in, and I’m lucky that the team of 560 colleagues is so warm.

Were you ready for the heatwave? Yes. Sales across the store’s various ranges really picked up. Barbecue items in particular sold really well, alongside the summer-based clothing range.

Have the sugar tax and retailers’ plastic reduction initiatives influenced shoppers? I haven’t seen a dramatic shift, but I’d imagine that once the numbers of products are changed at a corporate level, we may notice an adjustment. Customer awareness of plastic is increasing constantly. We already offer plastic recycling points in our car park and in-store plastic carrier bag recycling facilities.

You’ve not had a major refurb since 2012, but Sainsbury’s new mantra is little and often so what’s new in your store? We introduced the SmartShop app in February, which went smoothly.

You’ve worked for Sainsbury’s for 32 years - what has kept you there? Sainsbury’s has really looked after me and I still get a great deal of satisfaction from doing this job. The environment is ideal for me because it’s so open - some days I’ll be in the main store and others I’ll be focusing on the petrol station.

What are your hopes for the store’s future? With the online side of things going from strength to strength every year - between 15% and 18% of our customers’ shops are done online and a quarter of our frozen items are sold online - I’d anticipate that will continue. The industry itself changes so quickly and constantly, which makes the time fly and means there are fresh challenges all the time.