Winner: Tesco Extra, Cardiff Pengam Green

Store manager: Richard Frear

Opened: 2001

Size: 60,000 sq

Nearest rivals:

Asda 3.2 miles,

Sainsbury’s 1 mile

Market share: 8.6%

Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

 

Our shopper said your staff were “very friendly and helpful”. How important is customer service to you? You can have great products, great availability and great prices but it can all be ruined if you don’t get that friendly and helpful face at the end. I understand what Philip Clarke said recently about making sure we have great service and we’ve worked very hard to stress that to sta .

How has the Big Price Drop gone down in Cardiff ? We definitely saw an increase in the volume of purchases. But customers want something in their hands when they leave and that was the bit the Big Price Drop missed. Now we have the spend and save coupons and petrol coupons working in parallel.

How has your store adapted to the online shopping era – especially in light of Clarke’s heightened focus on it? So much is now done online. A lot of what our larger stores have in stock customers are going on the internet to buy. I’ve seen that happen with customers coming in with price comparison apps. I think people will be blown away with what Tesco comes up with online and there are many ways we can work in conjunction with that.

Which of your rivals impresses you most? Waitrose. They seem to have found the ability to make food exciting.

How do you try to compete with that as a Tesco Extra? We’ve looked at our deli and provided some more upmarket products there. We’ve also been working with a Welsh sourcing agency to provide additional ranges of goods that are locally sourced.

How did you cope with the snow? Tesco has had a plan in place since November, with early warning reports to put us on standby and supplies of extra salt. We were made a high priority because we were likely to be hit and had quad bikes clearing the car parks. There was a bit of panic buying but there was also a big rugby game on Sunday so I’m not sure how much of it was weather related!

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