Winner: Tesco Stoke-on-Trent Meir, Staffordshire
Store manager: Julie Mayer
Opened: 1994
Size: 50,000 sq ft
Market share: 16%
Nearest rivals: Asda - 4.3 miles, Sainsbury’s - 4.5 miles, Morrisons - 4.9 miles
Store data source: Analysis by CACI. Call the market planning group on 020 7602 6000

Tesco has won store of the week yet again. What’s the secret? I think it’s a combination of store investment, a focus on the service side, the fresh food range and availability. The Tesco Price Promise has also been a massive success because it’s so simple.

How long have you been store manager at Stoke-on-Trent? Three years. Altogether I’ve been a Tesco store manager for nine years.

You scored an impressive 90 out of a possible 100. What are your thoughts? The win is fantastic for my team as they work really hard. We focus on detail, including keeping the store clean and tidy, limiting congestion on the shop floor, ensuring the produce counters look the best they can and offering great customer service.

Our mystery shopper praised the knowledge and friendliness of staff - particularly in the wine department. What sets you apart from the rest? Last year’s store investment meant we could put more colleagues on the shop floor. Now they’ve got more time to spend talking to customers rather than rushing off to do tasks. We’ve done a lot of work around the personal training of staff and encouraged them to let their personalities shine through.

Any standout examples? When pensioners buy mobile phones they can get overwhelmed, so our staff will set the phone up for them so they can leave the store up and running. Our fishmonger recommends recipes and advice on how to cook certain types of fish, while at the checkouts we treat customers as though they are the first of the day. We have a loyal customer base - customers know staff by their first names and go to a particular checkout because they want to chat with them.

The recent bank holiday weekend was a scorcher - did this affect trade? Yes, we had a great uplift in sales. Outdoor toys, barbecue ranges, bedding plants, burgers, and sausages all sold particularly well.

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