Company : SuperValu Fermoy

Number of Employees : 140

Years in Existence : 55

1 – What made you choose CBE as your EPoS supplier?

We have been dealing with CBE for years, we have always been happy with the products and service that CBE provide. There have been many innovations from CBE down through the years and the most recent that has really helped our business would be the self-checkout solutions. As a store we were restricted with space and we were struggling with an offering for our small basket customers, the self-checkouts were the only solution for this. We only had them in a short while and we decided to add two more, and last year we decided to fit a self-checkout unit with a belt which can be used by trolley customers. Self-checkouts are a no brainer really, and there are a multitude of benefits from them.

2 – What are the main trends you are observing within your industry?

Retail is evolving on a continuous basis. This year’s events have thrown it off the tracks a little bit. I suppose the biggest trend I have seen is people returning to family shopping, big shops once a week. We would have seen a lot of new customers during Covid who may have been doing multiple convenience shops throughout the week elsewhere, and when restrictions lifted we have retained these customers, so Covid in that regard has been a positive for us. Our footfall / transactions would be gone down but spend has gone way up. There’s growth in every area of the business.

3 – Can you describe what a typical working day looks like for you?

Everyday is a different day and it brings its challenges. Running a store varies from day to day. It’s always a mixed bag of stuff which I thoroughly enjoy and find it very hard to get tired of it.

4 – What do you love about your job?

In times like this when you are busy, there’s great satisfaction in what you can do and produce within the store regarding thew business and service you provide. I really enjoy seeing the different innovations / initiatives that are out there and seeing if they are a fit for my store. I love developing areas within the store and moving on to a new initiative. Self-checkouts would have been one of them. It’s a very evolving business to be involved in and there’s always something new coming on.

5 – What do you feel is your greatest strength?

I suppose I would be quite fearless when it comes to retail. I’m not afraid to embrace new technologies or innovations. I like delivering these to the store and the customers.

6 – How do you think your employees would describe you?

We have a very loyal base of staff; the majority have been with us for a long time. We always look after them as best we can. I suppose I would like to think they see me as a fair person.

7 – What job role within your company would you be terrible at?

I might not be brilliant at anything, but I’d chance me arm at it anyway.

8 – What is the most heartwarming thing you have ever seen an employee do for a customer?

There is too many to mention. I have employees who go above and beyond what is required of them on any given day or week. I’m not great at keeping a track record on it but there’s not a day that goes by where an employee does something. I suppose during Covid there would have been staff members approaching me and persuading me to provide specific services that wouldn’t be the norm and then I’d realise it should have been done all along.

9 – How do you relax after a hard day at work?

I go home and do a bit more work. I don’t really sit down at all. I am usually working or walking. I would be involved in a lot of things outside the shop too.

10 – Finally, if you could have lunch with one person, who would it be, and why?

Elvis. He seemed to be a nice guy.