Store of the week: Sainsbury's Banbury

How long have you been in charge? About four months. When you come into a new store everyone goes through a process of getting to know each other. It’s great for the team to get good news and it doesn’t get much better than this.

Have you been enjoying trying to persuade customers to spend an extra 50p? A good example of trying to encourage our team to be involved and active with this goal is to maximise availability. We’ve been working on simple things like making sure our promotions are fully stocked all the time. Twenty or 30 pairs of eyes are much better than one or two. We react very quickly when we see stocks getting low on shelves.

Sainsbury’s has reported falling sales for the past few months - how is trading in your store? We have been on an upward trajectory. Every day we try to maximise sales and I’ve been really pleased with our progress. There are always opportunities to take more money and that’s what we’re focused on now.

This new shift to a mid-low pricing strategy with thousands of lower prices - has it attracted new shoppers? Customers tell us they are seeing real clarity and it’s giving them confidence in our pricing. Linked to our refreshed Brand Match offer, customers say they are delighted with what the coupon at the till is telling them.

How did customers react to Sainsbury’s dropping Tesco from the comparison? Sometimes simplifying a message makes it stronger. It’s refreshing for our customers to see that their basket compares favourably on branded products compared to Asda.

You have Iceland, Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco within a couple of miles. Which one gives you the shivers? I don’t fear but do respect them. They are my competitors so I’m aware of them, but we want to be best in town and if we give great service ­customers will stay loyal to us.