How was business over Christmas and new year? Trade was fantastic. The store beat budget for both the key Christmas trading weeks and our in-store growth has been the best part of 5% year-on-year. We are based in town and the bad weather probably did us a favour as people were more inclined to shop here than to drive out of town. 

What do you do to compete with your nearest rivals? I try to visit competitors once a week and see what they are up to. Our nearest rivals are Morrisons and Waitrose and the main areas where we need to compete with them is in fresh counter offerings. As a result, we have spent a lot of time developing both our deli and bakery counters and this has produced 15% like-forlike growth in these areas.  Demographic data shows a high number of wealthy achievers in the area. 

How do you cater for this? We stock a larger than average Finest range in store for that reason, and our Mediterranean range is also upmarket. But people will always want a choice so we obviously still stock value lines too. We recently undertook some work in store called a market overlay, where we focused on giving more space to the areas and products that were overperforming as a way of giving customers more of what they want. 

What would you change about the store if you could? We are currently in the process of submitting the planning application for a store refit which, if it gets through, would see us extend the store to make room for more non-food items. In response to customer demand I would also like to have a café back in store. We used to have one but it was removed about six years ago and customers overwhelmingly ask for it back as part of any refit proposal. 

As manager of this store, what has been the hardest thing you have had to do? I have been at this store for about eight months, and for the past six it has been a challenge to ensure we have fully stocked shelves throughout the day. To do this I have undertaken a lot of work on changing staff hours to make sure the replenishment operation is as good at 5pm as it is at 8pm. It is also a challenge to ensure we stay ahead of the competition. 

How long have you worked for Tesco and what do you like about it? I have worked here since 1996 and enjoy every aspect of the job. It is never the same from one day to the next and it is very fast-paced. There are challenges but they are never insurmountable.  

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