How does it feel to have achieved the Grocer 33’s second highest ever score? I was jumping for joy when we found out. I returned here as deputy manager two years ago, and during that time we’ve worked really hard as a team to make sure we have a consistently good shop and are a consistent destination at all times. Our branch manager Dan Stilwell is on holiday this week but he will be so pleased.
Why are standards so high? It’s a reflection of just how brilliant our 450 colleagues are. The mantra we live by is ‘walk every bay, every day’ in order to understand the detail. We aim to be curious, and not to settle. That’s quite an investment of time, but as a leadership team we are fully behind it. Scoring a 99 shows it’s clearly working.
How does your location influence trade? We’ve been here since 1988 so are well founded within the community. Over that time the demographic around the store has changed as more housing has been built, and we’ve gone from being on the outskirts to being very urban. We’re your classic big weekly shop. Thursday to Sunday trade is very heavy, with a whole mix of missions throughout the week. We’re 65,000 sq ft so have pretty much the full range you can get at Sainsbury’s. Lady Sainsbury lives nearby, and shops here occasionally, so we’re lucky enough to have that connection to the original heritage of the business too!
When was the Lidl built opposite? Has it affected trade? It’s been there a couple of years. We’ve also recently had a Tesco Express open just across the road. It’s had an impact, but all competition is good. It keeps us on our toes and makes sure we are striving for nothing other than perfect.
Do you make a habit of getting into competitors’ stores? What’s your point of difference? I’m a huge believer in it and will actively send one of our management team or myself into a competitor store once a week. It helps us see how we can show up better, and what good looks like for Basingstoke. It sounds clichéd, but I genuinely believe our colleague base and the relationship we have with the community is our difference. Because the store has been here such a long time, there is a lot of trust built up with customers.
Are there any areas you think you could improve as a team? Availability is the heart of everything, matched with service. It’s great to see that our focus on both is paying off and we will continue to work on that. We are a Change Hub store within the estate and act as a trial store for new technology, which should help keep us on the front foot.
Can you tell us more about what you’re currently trialling? We have some new tech, but I can’t say any more than that.
Shoppers are increasingly buying into own label. Are you seeing that in Basingstoke? For sure. We are seeing a lot of buy in, and an uptick across the board as shoppers are being more budget-conscious. We do a great job of price matching our own-label products and have a great split across the range, from budget own labels right up to premium lines like our Taste The Difference Discovery Range, which allow for more restaurant quality experiences at home.
What’s your next big focus as a store team? The first is community. Sainsbury’s has just renewed its partnership with Comic Relief, and for the next eight weeks we’ll be running fundraisers in store, as part of our ‘Move For Meals’ initiative. We’re really proud of our score, and will strive to keep pushing it.
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