Tesco scooped our top store award this week at one of its biggest stores in the country. A full shopping basket and helpful staff ensured Tesco Extra at Kingston Park, Newcastle, beat its rivals.

Our shopper asked five separate workers for help finding products, and was left impressed by their helpfulness. "An easy and pleasant shop," was the verdict.

Sainsbury's at Fallowfield had a large carpark and its excellent signage made it easy to navigate. However, no standard sized naan was available.

Waitrose in Chichester, West Sussex, made a good impression, with smartly dressed staff who took pride in their work. The store did not stock Super Noodles or Actimel, but nonetheless, the shelves appeared well stocked and tidy. At the till, our shopper was surprised when the checkout worker said few people bothered to bring their own bags.

The busy Asda store in Bridgend did not sell loose sweet potatoes, leaving our shopper unable to complete the shop. However, the store was easy to navigate, and the aisles were clear of packing trolleys.

A surprisingly quiet Morrisons in Felixstowe, Suffolk, meant our shopper had an easy and relaxing shop. However, availability was not good. The scones and sausage rolls were both out of stock, and our shopper was unable to buy the required size of both the garden peas and the chorizo. 



Winner: Marc Smith, Tesco Extra, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Tell us about your store.
We are one of the biggest Tesco stores in the country, with 820 staff. We are a flagship store and one of the first purpose-built Tesco Extras. We are celebrating our tenth anniversary soon and I will be holding a party with the staff. The store is on the outskirts of the city, so we have every type of customer. Customers are more price conscious at the moment but they still want quality. We are doing a lot more £1 offers and bogofs in order to appeal to them.

How has the double-the-points Tesco Clubcard scheme been received by customers? I have seen nothing like it. The customers' response has been incredible. At this store, 78% of customers already use a Clubcard, but I think this will increase customer loyalty even further.

What competitors do you have? In the last 10 weeks, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsbury's have all opened stores within five miles of us. We also have an Asda and another Morrisons within a few miles of the store. To stand out from the competition, we do a lot in the community such as coaching kids' football teams during the summer holidays. We arrange for coaches from The Football Association to do it the kids just have to come into the store, sign up and it's free.

Which products have done well for you recently? Fairy Platinum dishwasher tablets. We won a competition for the most sold in any store in the UK over a two-week period, selling nine pallets. We had a display in the foyer.

How much freedom do you have to implement plans independently of head office? I am pretty free to do what I want. In May, Tesco started a stock reduction programme, which has saved us 100 hours a week in productivity terms. I added a few things, such as looking more closely at discontinued lines to make sure they were being dealt with properly and gaps weren't left on the shelf.

When was your store last in the papers? When we launched a national campaign to raise money for muscular dystrophy, the Tesco charity of the year. And six weeks ago we took part in the Race for Life.