Store of the week: Sainsbury's Hereford

What was your reaction when you found out your store had won this week? I was absolutely delighted. The store won a couple of years ago, but I haven’t won as a store manager. I’ve worked at Sainsbury’s for 39 years, so it’s taken a long time! My colleagues are absolutely delighted, too.

Is your store ready for Christmas? Yes, all the preparations are complete and all the ranges are in ready for the customers to start buying in volume. They are being very wise about how they are budgeting and spending their money.

Are there any particular products you’re impressed with this year? I think Sainsbury’s Christmas decorations are really good this year. They are comparable with John Lewis for range and quality. We’ve also got some really exciting products coming through in food and some great fresh food and desserts.

What areas of your store are doing well? Online grocery is growing extremely well. General merchandise has some great products at great prices. And our Tu clothing brand was relaunched recently, which is going extremely well. We’ve got some nice Christmas jumpers in this year following customer feedback from last year.

Sainsbury’s half-year results last week were impressive. Were these results reflected at your store? Most definitely. And combined with our FTSE award and gold accreditation from Investors in People, it was a great week for the Sainsbury’s brand and everyone at Sainsbury’s.

How do you encourage top customer service and availability at your store? A big part of the training is putting the customer at the heart of everything we do. Last week, Sainsbury’s launched a Discover Sainsbury’s Development Passport, which invites colleagues to be ‘the best that they can be’ and offers them opportunities to progress or do something they want to do while working for Sainsbury’s.