steve cox tesco fleets corner poole

Winner: Tesco Fleets Corner, Poole

Store manager: Steve Cox

Opened: 1993

Size 84,000 sq ft

Market share: 22.1%

Nearest rivals: Lidl - 0.4 miles Asda - 2.0 miles Waitrose - 2.9 miles Sainsbury’s 4.3 miles

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

You have only been at the store 12 weeks. This has to be a good omen. I’m new here as the manager but I’ve lived in the area many years and know the store well. It’s a very, very busy store and quite difficult to manage so I’m really pleased as we won at a time when we would definitely have been really busy.

How have customers responded to the launch of Brand Guarantee? It’s going really well but I can honestly say it’s not just about brands. I’ve worked for Tesco for 36 years and I’ve never known so many price cuts in our own label line-up as we are offering at the moment.

Are you getting closer to the discounters on price? Yes. We have a Lidl nearby and I go in often to check. We are certainly as cheap as them on certain lines. What we’ve done on wines is a great example of how we are getting better on everyday price. Customers love it. I’ve had quite a few come up to me and ask are these prices really here to stay and I’ve said yes.

What do you make of Tesco’s new TV ads? The new campaign with Ruth Jones is really good. Tesco’s hypermarkets seem to be bouncing back in sales volumes. Were they prematurely written off? Extra had a tough time but they are back. We’ve worked hard on our availability and service and have turned things around.

What have you done to improve availability? The range reset is going to work very well. It has a great impact on making sure our most popular lines are stocked. There a few customers who are a bit disappointed but our staff are trained to show them comparative lines.

You are one of the stores piloting same-day click & collect groceries. How has it gone down? We’ve just started it but it’s clearly what the customer wants. Dotcom has become massive - I have 530 staff and 100 work in online - and we’re trying to make it work in a more joined-up way. As well as same day click & collect we offer same-day delivery before 2pm.