Winner: Waitrose Poynton
Store manager: Brian Murrie
Size: 17,500 sq
Opened: 2010
Market share: 28.3%
Nearest rivals: Asda 0.1 miles, Morrisons 0.3 miles, Sainsbury’s 2.5 miles

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

 

How has the store come along since opening two years ago? During the first year there were a lot of roadworks outside the store. The whole road surface was relayed and new pavements put in as part of a regeneration of the village centre. It has made it a much nicer place to shop in and trading has improved for us and the other businesses in the village.

What do you think contributed to the win this week? Most partners have a two-year history with us so they’re experienced and know what to expect. I’m absolutely delighted for all the partners and everyone who works behind the scenes.

What is going into stores at the moment? Halloween launched last week and we had the first pumpkins in the store this week. We’ve also started to bring in some of the Christmas ranges. People do actually start buying one or two of the longerlife items like tins of biscuits at about this time.

Have customers started putting more winter products into their shopping baskets? Yes, we have noticed that things like salad packs have dropped out. On the flipside, green veg has started to jump up and tins of soup are coming back up again.

What has been the initial reaction to the new Heston ready meals? They’ve been selling well. The lasagne is the bestseller so far. We’re looking forward to his Christmas products, too. The puddings were a flyaway success last year – people were buying three or four at a time.

What did you make of the ‘I shop at Waitrose because… ’ Twitter débacle? Partners were talking about it at work. We thought most of the responses were sharp witted and colourful. They made us smile.

What are you busy with at the moment? We’re getting set up for Christmas so that means getting work rotas done, recruiting temps in advance and thinking about stock levels. We’re looking at what happened last year to understand what is likely to sell well and what we can learn. 

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