Streatham serves a large range of demographics. Tell us more about your shoppers. This is one of the few Extra stores in London. We’re on the high street on the site of a former ice rink, and have a bus stop right outside. Trade is a mix of on the move and residential community food for all, with price-sensitive and some affluent shoppers.
You have competition from Aldi and M&S and others nearby. What’s your point of difference? It’s not an old shop – we opened in 2013 – but our 200 colleagues are experienced. We win customers by always giving them the best experience and reacting to their needs. Doing the basics in terms of full clean, price, standards and importantly safety, are the key bits in my agenda. On top of that I also think we are winning through the amount of space we have compared to competitors. For example, our recycling cages are right at the front of the store, which can be a draw. We have third parties as well in Dreamz Desserts and Greggs.
Tell us about your retail career so far. I came to the UK aged 18 to escape the civil war in Sri Lanka. I had no real expectation or direction, but then I joined Tesco as a customer assistant in 2001 and have made my way step by step to becoming a store manager. I honestly don’t think I would have had come this far without the opportunities Tesco have given me. It’s my 10th week in Streatham.
How have you spent your first 10 weeks in store? One of my strengths wherever I go is reacting to what communities want. It comes from my experience running convenience stores where you can be closer to your customers every day. There’s less opportunity to touch base with all of our customers here as we are so big, but I’ve tried to bring that culture to my team. I read a lot of customer comments and feedback, including Google reviews, and have spent a lot of time talking with our community champion.
How was the weekend heatwave? It was hard work. There is a park right opposite the shop so footfall was really high, the shop was loud and busy, and the level of Whoosh orders hit the roof. But the team reacted well to give us the upper hand.
Is there anything you are working to improve about the store? The area around the checkouts is quite narrow and when it does get busy, the queues can be really quite long, particularly for self-service. We plan to have a checkout configuration soon. We’ll add more self-service, which should help us clear the queues as quickly as we can.
What’s your next big focus? We are buzzing to have won store of the week. Maintaining that service is what will bring our customers back again and again. I wouldn’t be here if someone didn’t give me the trust and opportunity, and I really want to help my team grow their own careers. My daughter has set me the goal of becoming an area manager in five years
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