Workington is a gateway town to the Lake District. Do you benefit from the tourist trade? We’re not classed as a seasonal store. However, a lot of people choose to stay out this direction because it’s cheaper. Despite only being around 25,000 sq ft, our online shopping covers a large area, including places like Keswick, which get really busy in the summer, and we see a spike in our home delivery. Workington is a rural seaside town. Our local shoppers are a broad mix of lower and higher-affluence families.
How do you cater to such a broad range of shoppers as a smaller store? We try to tailor our range based on what customers have asked for. Because of our location we are serviced by a Scottish depot, so we can access some lines other English stores can’t. For example, we stock the full Tunnock’s teacakes range, or Cumberland sausages. We try to make sure that between 5%-10% of products in each category are either local or unique to this store.
This was one of the launch supermarkets for Whoosh. Has it been a challenge getting up to speed? We were chosen partly because our online operation is already huge. The trial started about 15 weeks ago, and it’s now been introduced permanently. The main consideration for me has been to make sure our availability is the best it can be right up until 11pm – which has had a benefit on our in-store availability as well. The response has been very positive. It’s allowed us to invest in recruiting more colleagues.
Is there much competition in town? How do you stand out? Our competition is all within five minutes of the store, and apart from Aldi, they’re all bigger than us. We focus on creating a welcoming store, where customers can find everything they need easily.
Are there any areas that you’re working to improve? It’s not something we’re looking to improve as such, but the business has just launched new ‘Helps’ customer service training. Every one of our 200 colleagues is going through that now. The focus is on being proactive, trying to pre-empt when customers may need help.
How are you preparing for the bank holiday? The weather looks fantastic! We’re tailoring the shop to meet that. Aisle ends will change to burgers and hot dogs. We’ll go big on beer, wines, spirits and prosecco. We have our trade plan, but then we try and add about 20% extra into that of lines we think will sell well.
Do you have a good connection with the local community? We want to be recognised as a store that supports the local community and as a good neighbour. Our focus at the moment is on smaller community projects, through our community champion Louise Rudd. For example, we provide free fruit to the local primary school and also organise social activities for adults with special needs in the area.
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