Few store managers could wish for a better start to their new job than Nicola Sroka-Flannigan. Less than two weeks after joining Tesco’s flagship Silverburn store in Glasgow, her team are celebrating being crowned the best store in Glasgow after taking the win in The Grocer 33 Glasgow shop.
Sroka-Flannigan talked about what makes Scottish retail different, how she plans to take Tesco’s flagship Scottish store to the next level and shares her advice on what new store managers should prioritise.
We understand you’re new to the store, what have you made of the team so far? I’ve been here just over two weeks! I’ve been with Tesco 20 years, working across Scotland and two years in England at Stockton. I’m from Glasgow, but I’ve never worked in the city, so it’s a great opportunity to take on a huge flagship in Scotland. I’ve spent my first two weeks just getting to know the store, customers and community. The team are super proud [of their G33 win]. All 430 of them are brilliant, and this is great recognition for them and a great base for us to take our offer further.
What’s unique about this store compared to others you’ve worked at? This is the biggest store Tesco have in Glasgow at 100,000 square feet. We’re in the middle of a retail park, which gives us a high footfall, but the basket spends vary and can be low. We’re busy all the time from morning to night; it keeps you on your toes. Our F&F department is very successful and brings a lot of footfall in itself. We’ve got a Decathlon and lots of other concessions, so that’s also very different.
What’s the biggest difference you’ve noticed between Scottish and English shoppers? To be honest, in terms of customer behaviour there’s not much difference. We strive for the same standards to give customers the best experience across all Tesco stores in Scotland and England. The biggest differences for me are some of the legalities, especially around alcohol licensing laws. We can only trade from a designated space and between 10am and 10 o’clock, which means we can’t display beers, wines or spirits at the front of stores. Not having those restrictions in England was fantastic.
BWS is a big part of World Cup promotion in England, have you had to get creative to drive trade? We’ve focused on snacking impulse lines like Pringles and crisps. We can display zero alcohol beer and wines, and we’ve been able to really increase our trade on that. Generally, we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for low and no alcohol products.
Lots of Tesco stores were affected by the heatwave over the weekend, did your fridges hold up? It was slightly cooler here in Scotland so there wasn’t the huge impact there has been elsewhere. It’s quite bizarre being based in a shopping complex, because trade actually drops a little bit when it’s warm, but we saw an increase in warm weather lines. ice cream, soft fruit and beer, of course.
It’s early days, but what are your priorities for taking the store to the next level? We’re launching Whoosh in the next couple of weeks. I’ve been given a great platform coming in, so for me, it’s now just about enhancing the customer journey. Maintaining availability, making sure our price message is fantastic. We’re a large store, so we have the ability to bring in lots of great lines to enhance our offer. As a new store manager, my biggest challenge is getting to understand the store trade patterns. Every store is different in my experience.
What’s your advice to any manager joining a new store? Just spend time talking to colleagues and customers. It’s such a basic thing, but be present on the shop floor, be visible, be involved.
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