Manager: Gareth Jeffery
Store: Tesco, Swansea Marina
Opened: 2000
Size: 34,854 sq ft
Market share: 6%
Population: 302,096
Grocery spend: £47,718,588
Spend by household: £353.72
Competitors: 65
Nearest rivals: Aldi 0.5 miles, Asda 3.6 miles, Co-op 0.1 miles, Iceland 0.4 miles, Lidl 0.6 miles, M&S 0.3 miles, Morrisons 2.0 miles, Sainsbury’s 0.5 miles, Tesco 0.4 miles, Waitrose 23.8 miles
Source: CACI. For more info visit www.caci.co.uk/contact. Notes: Shopper profiling is measured using Grocery Acorn shopper segmentation. Store catchment data (market share, population, expenditure, spend by household, competition) is within a five-mile radius. For CACI’s shopper segmentation of the other stores we visited this week see the online report at www.thegrocer.co.uk/stores/the-grocer-33
I see you are back managing the store where you started your Tesco career. What’s that been like? That’s right. I joined Tesco back in 2007 through the graduate stream. I started at Swansea Marina and have since had various roles across Wales, but I came back here six months ago. What was striking and really good for me was just how many people were still here from when I first started. A lot of people have managed to build a long career with the company.
How have the roles at Tesco changed since you first started out? I think the roles are pretty similar, but there is now a lot more opportunity for people to work across the store in different areas. I think that’s what keeps them energised and interested in their jobs. They get to work with different people.
It’s budget week, what is your view of consumer confidence? There is a real sense of energy and hustle and bustle in the shop. We are such a busy city centre store. A lot of people want to come in and do their shopping quickly. We have a lot of different demographics, and we’re focusing mainly on delivering for the customers and making sure they have the best experience.
What demographics do you cater for? We’re quite a student store as we’re close to the university, plus we’ve got the marina just opposite and the Mumbles just up the coast, so we get a lot of families on holiday. Plus, we’re close to a city centre that has a lot of different cultures and diversity, which I think is really good for the store.
You have always worked in Wales – what focus does the store give to local Welsh produce, and what is your favourite? We have a Welsh buying team and we do champion Welsh products. We’ve got a really good network that looks after relations with Welsh suppliers. I’m a whisky drinker, so for me it’s Penderyn, which has just opened a distillery in Swansea as well. It’s a beautiful whisky.
Bulk buys seem to be everywhere at the moment, is that something that’s big in your store? We do have a bulk buy range, and it’s just another way of offering great value to customers. We refresh it and bring new lines in as any market develops.
Do you keep an eye on what the discounters and other rivals are doing? I do think it is important that as a store manager you visit your rivals. I’m quite lucky in that respect because we have most of them in walking distance. I have a Sainsbury’s, an Aldi and an Asda, and we also have B&M and others. I think it’s always important to see what your competitors are doing and where their strengths lie, and think how you can best respond to that.
What are you most pleased with by way of your store’s response? I would flag up the way we’ve focused on value in the business, where we have Aldi Price Match, low everyday prices and Clubcard Prices to really push value for our customers. I think we’re very much seen as competitive when it comes to price and value.
What has your message been to staff for the upcoming Christmas period? Enjoy it. When you’re in retail, this is the busiest time of the year, and it’s a time when you should really enjoy being in retail – and just as importantly, enjoy your time outside of store with family.
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