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Inside... In the news 3 Store openings across the

country

Your news 4 MCM changes in-store 5 Kevin's a Nectar millionaire 6 Sharesave payout for colleagues

Features 8 Online on the spot 9 On your marks for Sport Relief 10 Make your voice heard through

the colleague council 12 Make room for non-food 13 Local Heroes 2006 is here

Product news 14 More organic milk and eggs 15 Crawley put Basics to the test

'eopie news 16 Shining Stars 17 TellJustin 18 Watchmoor Park pharmacy

colleagues help people stop smoking

19 Active Kids is back

iH There's lots of news in this edition r about the great work we are doing in

'petitions 20 Win an electric toothbrush

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our local communities and also further afield. I am very proud to tell friends and family of the successes we are currently achieving. Keep up the great work.

Sport Relief is a huge event for us this year. In the latter part of 2005,1 went on an incredible trip to Africa where I was inspired by the people and their determination to make

their lives better for themselves and for their children. Our involvement with Sport Relief is your chance to really make a difference to people

the world over and get fitter whilst doing it! There are a number of ways for you to participate. Have a look at page 9 for more details about how everyone can get involved.

Do you want to be a Local Hero? Well, now is your chance as the scheme for 2006 has just begun. Take a look at page 13 to see what you could do to raise funds on your own or as part of a team and we will match the funds you raise.

Have a look at page 19 to see what our Active Kids have been up to - they certainly look like they are enjoying the equipment. Customers still have until 30 May to collect vouchers, so encourage them to participate. Did you know, on average customers are collecting approximately 18 million vouchers per week across all stores and nearly 30,000 schools have registered to benefit from the equipment? This is great news, as it will make a massive difference to your local community. Let's try and smash the 30,000 figure before the end of the campaign. flf

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Inthenews Keep up to date with the latest news across the company

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store openings across the country Eleven new and improved stores opened their doors to customers recently - and colleagues were at the heart of the action.

1 Aberdeen Following an investment of £9.5 million, the new-look store at Aberdeen reopened its door with the creation of 100 new jobs.

Store manager Galium Nicholson was joined by several recently retired colleagues including 81-year-old former colleague John Popplewell.

2 Bitterne Margaret Kimber, who has completed nearly 40 years' service at Southampton's Bitterne store, opened the newly-refurbished supermarket.

Margaret, who has always worked at the store, said she has seen many changes to the store over the years but this is by far the biggest and best she has witnessed.

3 Ringwood store manager Richard Lockett and duty manager Tony Dack led the team as the former Safeway store in Ringwood opened to customers following a £2.5 million refurbishment.

The 18,500 sq ft store opened with 10 of the longest-serving ex-Safeway colleagues and some of their children.

4 Wootton Bassett After converting to Sainsbury's, the former Budgens store in Wootton Bassett has created 65 new jobs while all former Budgens colleagues are joining the Sainsbury's team.

5 East Ham Following an investment of £2 million, East Ham store now has a bright and fresh new look and feel.

Long-serving colleague Penny Moore, who has worked at Sainsbury's for 39 years, joined store manager Barry O'Leary for a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the store.

6 Waltham Cross Waltham Cross paid tribute to 14 long-serving colleagues when the store opened with a new look. Sue Ramthor, who has worked at the store for more than 30 years, said: "Our team has always got on brilliantly with our customers and over the years we've grown to know them so well. In fact, many have been shopping with us since the day we opened."

7 Chatham Linda Horsley and Lorna Peacock, who have over 70 years' service between them, opened their newly refurbished store at Chatham.

Both colleagues have worked at the store since it opened in 1976.

8 Crystal Peaks Children from Beighton Nursery Infant School celebrated Active Kids by opening the new store at Crystal Peaks shopping centre in Sheffield.

Store manager John Bailey was

also joined by 30 colleagues who were present at the previous store opening 18 years ago.

9 Plymouth Plymouth store celebrates its 20th birthday this year with a makeover. Seventeen colleagues, who have been at the store since it opened in 1986, and have clocked up over 340 years of service between them, joined duty manager Martyn Fleming in a ribbon cutting ceremony.

10 Redhlll store manager Steve Haward was joined by 14 long-serving

colleagues for the opening of the newly extended Redhill

store. Saul Hulcoop, oneof the original 14, hasn't

had a day off sick since the store first opened in

1985. He cut the ribbon for the

official opening along with payroll assistant Patricia

Atkinson.

11 South Harrow Beryl Cuthbert and Doris Stanley, who have both worked at South Harrow store for 39 years, were thrilled to cut a ribbon and officially open the new-look store.

Store manager Neil Baker was joined on the big day by loyal customer Ada Mary Davies, who recently turned 101 and is a regular customer at the store.

Paul's the tops Paul Gilligan, store manager at Islington, has won the Store Manager of the Year trophy at the Retail Week awards. Paul was commended for his brilliant and Inspirational team leadership and his focus on customer service.

The award comes hot on the heels of Paul's win in the National Customer Service Awards just six months ago. At

the time, Paul was store manager at South Ruislip when the team won Customer Service Team of the Year -Retail (see photo, left).

Jackson's were also winners in the Retail Week awards, taking the Retail Technology Initiative of the Year award for their Shop Scan Save programme, a revolutionary way for consumers to save money on their shopping by using mobile phones.

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Yournews All the news from around Sainsbury's

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Imagine yourself as a customer in your store - what would make your sliopping experience a great one?

The Mystery Customer Measure (MCM) is about helping stores to consistently deliver a great experience to every customer, making them come back time and time again - remember, great service drives sales.

Focus The key service priorities for stores are still the same: keeping queues down (to one in front), colleague manner across the store and the presentation, quality and cleanliness of the shopping environment. This year there's even more focus on the goal of delivering an ever improving quality shopping experience and making customers' lives easier every day. Colleagues can have a real impact on this, through the way they work and how they help customers find the products they are looking for - and discover new products too!

Training that colleagues have received in TRY something new today workshops and Scan School will be important.

Rachel Barrett, customer

service project manager, explained: "We know our customers want cashiers to offer help at the checkouts and assist them with their packing where they need it. Scan School training is all about helping colleagues to deliver great service and improved productivity. It's about achieving an efficient checkout service and making things easier for the customer at the same time. By doing what Scan School teaches, our colleagues will help achieve their store's MCM."

To help deliver a quality shopping experience for customers, there's greater

reward more colleagues with Shining Stars."

Mystery customers will also assess the quality of five produce items each period. There's also greater emphasis on customer toilets - with the chance for stores to win a quarterly "Golden Seat" award.

Careiine & Convenience To help give customers a quality shopping experience at call centres, the MCM for the customer careiine has also been revised.

Convenience colleagues in

iHendon has cut electricity emissions by three per cent, thanks to energy-saving ipeasures introduced by

kout assistant, Jaz Idia. Since joining Hendon ^ears ago, Jaz has

iioted green thinking ^ mongst her colleagues, ensuring that unused lights

witched off, chiller doors losed properly and len lights are fixed - even

Jssuing regular energy-saving nformation to colleagues in heir pay-packets. Explained laz: "I'm introducing low-

jneasurements that will pe people's attitudes, not tn their work, but also in 'daily lives."

The project is all part of Jaz's mechanical engineering degree at London's City University and it's making an enormous impact on the store. Hendon store manager, Nick Gilbody said: "We've had students work at Hendon, but never on any projects that are as big or as effective as this."

As a result of Jaz's energy-saving measures, Hendon is now saving £4,000 on electricity bills each year. Saving electricity makes a big difference during TRIAD days when

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colleagues to deliver great service' emphasis on colleague manner for the coming year. As now, mystery customers award marks for both the accuracy of the information a colleague gives, and the friendliness of the interaction. The mystery customer will also note down (for information only) how that colleague made the interaction personal. Rachel said: "This extra information will give managers a great opportunity to

Bells and Jacksons will have . the MCM for the first time from i Period 1, in line with Sainsbury's convenience stores.

The most important thing to remember about the MCM is that it's a team effort and you can do your part by treating every customer as the mystery customer! • For more details on MCM see the guidance pack available on Connect.

Fire doesn't stop supply I

Kevin Sargeant from Brentwood is tine envy of all his colleagues after fie won one million Nectar points. Kevin entered the Nectar competition Tick It To Win It back in November and couldn't believe his luck when he found out all those points were his.

Tick It To Win It is a competition run by Nectar to encourage colleagues from Nectar's sponsor companies to become more involved in the scheme. This is the first time Sainsbury's has entered the competition - making Kevin the first Sainsbury's colleague to get his hands on the top prize.

"I was very excited and happy about my win. I haven't fully decided what to do with all of

the points yet," he said. The frozen food

replenishment assistant has worked at Brentwood for over six years and feels jetting off away from it all is the best way to use his points.

"I'm thinking of a holiday somewhere very hot, maybe the Caribbean or somewhere similar. It will definitely do me good to get away from the cold weather here!

"My colleagues think I'm so lucky to have won and a few of them are trying to con their way into coming on holiday with me!"

Look out for the next Tick It To Win It cards out in stores towards the end of March.

When colleagues from trading, supply chain, retail and marketing heard there was a fire at Sainsbury's own-brand pet food factory, they vowed that shoppers' pets would not go hungry.

The fire meant that Sainsbury's had no own-label pet food in stores for over eight weeks. So buyer Kirsteen Robb got to work using barker cards and customer service notices in-store to keep customers up-to-date with the situation. Rachel Linke in marketing also wrote to 350,000 Nectar card holders who had bought own-label pet food at least once in a 12-week period. The letter explained about the fire and offered coupons for money off either Whiskas cat food or Pedigree dog food.

Customers obviously appreciated the personal touch. More than 80 customers wrote back to say thank you for the letter and

coupons - most came directly from the cats and dogs themselves!

Dylan, a red setter, wrote: "I was sorry to hear about the fire because Sainsbury's tinned dog food is my favourite. My nearest store is a Tesco but I would rather go out of my way to shop with you where the customer still matters." Meanwhile, Bruce the cat wrote: "I am deeply upset about the fire at the factory. I wondered what was going on as every time my owner went to the shops she came back

appreciated the personal touch"

with some alternative food which I didn't like very much."

Dylan and Bruce will soon be able to eat their normal food thanks to team-working across the company. The buying team met with seven alternative

suppliers and chose a Danish manufacturer which will get the products back in-store by mid-April.

Availability The supply chain worked very quickly with

suppliers to re-forecast their lines so that availability

was as good as possible for customers. Trading, supply chain, retail and marketing worked closely together and there has been no drop in overall sales in this category. In fact, there has been some very positive feedback from suppliers who said Sainsbury's was the quickest retailer to react to the problem and has the best forecasting.

e Park are uthern stars

Chequeotit... Dave King presents the Shining ^£rs chegue to Rye Park general manager Baden Morton and the depot's management team

Rye Park colleagues beat all their southern 'on depot rivals to win 300,000 Shining Stars n Dave King, southern region logistics ctor for their performance during period 10. >ave and his team judged all the depots on

store service, on-time deliveries, cost and productivity - and declared Rye Park the overall winner on all counts.

£16 million Sharesave pdyOUT Tor COIIGdC|UGS Ten thousand colleagues are set to share in a payout of over £16 million as two of the company's Sharesave schemes reached maturity.

The majority of colleagues are opting to keep their shares in the company. Others are splashing out on holidays, home improvements or treats for the kids.

Trisha Travis and Dot Beaumont are both long-serving colleagues at Wakefield who are benefitting

from the scheme. Trisha plans to visit Euro Disney, where her daughter is a dancer. Dot plans to spend her money on a new kitchen and re-decorating her home.

Chief executive Justin King said: "I'm delighted that the hard work and commitment shown by colleagues is starting to bear fruit and that those who contributed to the Sharesave schemes can start to reap the rewards."

Travellers cheques for plane sailing Sainsbury's Bank has launched a new travel money service in association with American Express. The Bank offers competitive exchange rates as well as a comprehensive service. Benefits include next day delivery of commission-free foreign currency and travellers cheques.

Travel insurance manager Karen Preston said: "In the same way we are trying to encourage customers to try new things in-store, we hope that customers will see the benefit of a one-stop-shop for their travel insurance and travel money. We hope many will

try the innovative new Travellers Cheque Cards which combine the convenience of a payment card with the security of travellers

offe months (available between 2004-2005) has won a prestigious industry award.

The card, launched in autumn 2004, was named Best New Credit Card Product of the Year 2006 at the Credit Card Awards at the London IHilton Hotel, Park Lane.

The card was the first to offer a 12 month 0 per cent

nod on ashback ai

Sainsbury's shopping. Donald Macleod, credit

cards manager, who accepted the award from William Hague, said: "This award is great news for the bank and recognises the efforts and achievements of everyone who has worked so hard to provide an excellent best buy product that delivers real value to our customers."

CUSTOMER CORNER Our most frequently asked questions this montli

How does Sainsbury's get involved in the local community? Local Heroes is a fantastic scheme to help the local community and drive some interest in Sainsbury's and the good causes the company supports.

But, did you know that Sainsbury's wants customers to associate 12 really important

areas of the business with the brand? These include food safety, recycling and supporting farmers.

When you get a chance, why not have a look at the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) section on Sainsbury's corporate website (www.j-sainsburys. com)? Simply click on the responsibility tab and take a look at the company's priorities.

We hope that customei

the benefit of a one-stop-shop for avel" travel insuran(

cheques. You simply put Sterling, Euros or US dollars on to the card and off you go."

What's more, the Bank promises even better rates for colleagues. • To find our more, visit www.sainsburysbank.co.uk/ bestrates

SAINSBURY'S MAGAZINE INCREASES LEAD Sainsbury's Magazine has reported a 22 per cent increase in circulation between JulytoDecennber 2005. It now sells 414,000 copies a month, which makes it the fourth most popular women's magazine behind Glamour, Good Housekeeping and Cosmopolitan.

The SSA lucky lottery has been running for many years and is finally coming to an end. Over the years, the lottery has given to many worthwhile causes - and this year was no exception.

The three charities to benefit this year were RNLI, Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children and Macmillan Cancer Relief. All three charities received a donation of £5,770 each to raise awareness or to contribute to equipment.

Voluntary benefits officer Irene Bradford said: "I would like to thank all the lottery members who have

contributed over the years and supported the lottery, along with those members who have nominated the chosen charities over the years."

40 year celebrations Eleven colleagues and their guests attended a lunch at London's Savoy Hotel on 8 February to celebrate 40 years' service at Sainsbury's. The lunch was hosted by chairman Philip Hampi chief executive Justin King and Retail HR director Helen Webb.

The colleagues, from retail, supply chain and the store support centre, shared their many memorable stories and experiences of life at Sainsbury's. After an enjoyable cocktail reception, everyone enjoyed an informal and relaxed lunch when Justin thanked the colleagues for their long and loyal service.

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Online on the Researchers at ITV's This Morning have voted Sainsbury's Online best website and most punctual delivery. We asked Kevin Plant, the new head of Online how the operation is contributing to Making Sainsbury's Great Again

What's so great about Online? We've got a fantastic website. I wasn't at all surprised tliat it got sucti rave reviews from This Morning. We also have a huge competitive advantage in the delivery slots we offer customers as well as the fact that we put any substitutions in blue bags and list them at the top of the till receipt so customers can see straight away if they are happy.

We've also made great improvements in customer satisfaction recently, and our driver customer service training has had a big part to play in that.

What are your priorities for the coming months? Our challenge for Quarter 1 is to get complaints down and availability up. Complaints have gone down from 20 per cent to seven per cent but our target is to get them below six per cent.

As for availability, in week 46 we hit our best-ever score of 93.6 per cent. However, Rustington did even better at 98.1 per cent-that just shows what can be done. I'd like to see availability at 94 per cent and then go for 95 per cent. The secret of success is to focus on the needs of our customers and of our colleagues.

What do you bring to Online from your experience in retail? I've worked at Sainsbury's for 28 years so I've got a lot of retail experience and my last role was zone managing director for the north.

What's your impression of Online colleagues? They're fantastic! If you want to know the true availability to the customer, ask an Online shopper because they are the people who shop the store each day. Online colleagues can be a real help with the focus on availability. I think they're a really under-utilised resource.

'Customers are very much at the heart

of our operation Drivers are key to our

customer service, too. If you shop through the internet, the driver is the only person you will have contact with so it's absolutely vital they give fantastic service. I've been out with drivers and I've seen how great service can really delight a customer - they've got a really important role to play.

IHow do you linow if you're getting it right? We test any innovations with our customers. If they suggest any changes to the website, we'll check with them again before going live. Customers are very much at the heart of our operation.

What can colleagues do to help Online? Be fanatical about what customers want, make sure

you've got great availability in-store and make sure you have enough hours on the department.

What's the secret to success? It's actually very simple -customers want everything they have ordered to be delivered on time with good life on the product. If we can deliver that, then we can delight our customers.

Do you shop online yourself? Yes, I do - it's a great way of checking the pulse of the operation. I also get a lot of

ONLINE FACTS ~ 97 Sainsbury's stores offer Online shopping

Complaints have dropped from 20 per cent to seven per cent • The best recorded availability came from Rustington store at 98.1 per cent

35 per cent of all new customers are recommended by friends and family

Online is achieving year-on-year sales growth of over 39 per cent • Over 45,000 deliveries a week

feedback from colleagues around the business so I get a picture of the operation across the country. I'd like to encourage any colleagues with issues about Sainsbury's Online to get in touch with me by email at kevin.plant@sainsburys.co.uk

On your marks... If you're looking for a way to go the extra mile for charity - then get on your marks for Sport Relief and the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile

Brought to you by Comic Relief, Sport Relief is your cfiance to be a sport and help make a difference to people the world over - and raise your own fitness levels into the bargain.

The event kicks off on 3 May and builds momentum until the focal point of the 2006 campaign -The Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile.

On Saturday 15 July, 200,000 people will be putting their best foot forward for charity and taking part in the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile. This year, with 15 national events, and over 100 local events, the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile is set to be the biggest event of its kind in the world. Log on to Connect to find your nearest Mile event.

Can't do the Mile but still want to get involved? Sainsbury's will be running four huge fundraising ideas in store (see box, below). Find out more about these, and the huge prizes available through the reverse auction by watching the April monthly briefing video, and in future issues of the Journa/.

The highlight of Sport Relief for Sainsbury's colleagues comes on 15 July with Be a Sport Saturday.

Bowled over... Colleagues from Nine Elms store joined In the fun when they visited London Community Cricket Association

WHERE DOES THE MONEY GO? The money raised from Sport Relief will go to help vulnerable people In the UK, and in the poorest countries in the world. • Justin King (see right) found out for himself about the worl"^ Sport Relief when he visited Africa late last year. He said: "What struck me is that everyone was part of the local community. These people turned their hands to helping others. They had consciously decided to stay in their communities and use their talents to help." ~ Young people with learnin disabilities want to join in sporting activities as much a their friends - they just might need a bit of extra support. The London Community Cricket Association now runs a crick< programme to include young people with learning disabilitl (see photo below).

Why not make this a huge day for colleagues and customers alike, doing everything you can to raise as much money as possible? For just £1 you can dress as a sport star and amuse your colleagues and customers.

SR;!^RT RELIEF

All stores have the chance to win a regional prize of 100,000 Shining Star points. This will be awarded to one store per region, two depots, one Local and one store support centre division with the most fundraising per head, so

start putting plans in place now! Sainsbury's is hoping to raise

£1m for Sport Relief through colleague fundraising alone, which will be a great achievement, so dust of your kit and get ready for some fantastic days in store.

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There are four key fundraising events this year and you can take part in all of them. • Join "a mile in your shoes" pedometer challenge, be creative and get sponsored to raise huge sums for Sport Relief • For just £4 you can buy an England World Cup uniform T-shirt and show your support for the team. All proceeds will be donated to Sport Relief. Order your T-shirt before 24 April. • Take part in the Sainsbury's colleague reverse auction and text bids for huge individual prizes including World Cup tickets! Texts cost £1 + standard operator costs and at least 58p will go to Sport Relief. • Have fun dressing up as your favourite sport star for Be A Sport Saturday, and do everything you can to raise as much money for Sport Relief as possible.

Further details to follow next month!

"We're here to represent you" Want to get your voice heard by senior management? Look no further than the colleague council

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If you work on the shop floor, how can you be sure that your views will be heard at the top of the company? The answer is through your colleague council.

Councils are action groups with elected members who represent colleagues across the company. They Were first established in 1996 in response to a Talkback survey to improve communication and consultation between colleagues and the company - and they've been going from strength to strength ever since.

There are three tiers of councils - ensuring that colleagues' views are heard at every level. Store councils offer an opportunity for colleagues to be consulted on key issues and proposed changes that may affect them. It also allows for colleagues to communicate their ideas and suggestions. These councils are made up from representatives from each department.

Improvers Today, councils have the opportunity to act as "improvers" by consulting with colleagues and contributing ideas and solutions to real business issues such as new policies or working practices, improving colleague motivation and dealing with practical issues that will improve the working environment. An effective store council can play a significant role in improving many scorecard KPIs including sales and customer service.

and they'll seek our views |{|||^f|8BS^|(=f=>»l^*sfjMI

One of the key tasks for store councils is to drive the Talkback survey, encouraging colleagues to participate, cascading the results, and most important is creating an action plan to act on the results.

The next tier up from store councils is the zone council which enables representatives to hear from the zone managing director or divisional directors on business performance. Again, it's a chance

for colleagues to be consulted on proposals for change, and ideas from colleagues are communicated to the senior management team.

Consultation The third tier is Sainsbury's colleague council. There are 17 places on this council and it meets four times a year with chief executive Justin King, retail

director Ken McMeikan and other directors. This is Justin's chance to consult colleagues on

proposals for change that may affect them and also an opportunity

for colleagues to communicate their ideas to senior managers.

Pat Bayliss is a checkout trainer at Water Lane store in Farnham. She has been on the Sainsbury's colleague council for two years and relishes the chance to communicate directly with senior managers such as Justin and Ken. She said: "The council has definitely broadened my outlook of the business. I understand much more about how the company works now and the more I learn, the more

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For Sainsbury's • More great ideas to run the business • More involved, informed and motivated colleagues means a better deal for customers • Better guality decisions • Changes can be introduced quickly and smoothly without unnecessary surprises

For colleagues • A communication channel to put your point of view across • A forum that will make sure your ideas are heard and acted on • A forum for you to raise questions or concerns in confidence • You will be kept up-to-date with the company's progress • Opportunities tareceive early news and information on company plans ^

For council representatives • Opportunity to develop new skills • Learn more about Sainsbury's and influence how decisions are made • Wider contacts in the business • Understanding that may help you in your future career • Demonstrate your ability to deal with responsibility

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effective I am as a colleague representative."

What makes a good representative? "Listening and communicating," said Pat. "The whole purpose of the councils is to communicate - especially two-way communication. Managers listen to us and they'll seek our views if they need feedback."

Peter McGowan-Kemp from Partick store agrees. "I've really enjoyed my time on the council," he said. "It's been really good to see how things work at the top

end of the store and beyond. I find I'nn able to raise ttie profile of the store and I can get colleagues' feedbacl< on new initiatives. For example, we got a chance to hear about RSS when it was still in the trial stages. It's great to see it in action in-store now."

The role of the councils is all about consultation; they are not a forum for negotiation. Colleagues have the opportunity to influence issues being discussed but decisions remain the responsibility of managers.

Council facts... the members of the Sainsbury's colleaque council with retail director Ken McMeikan

The council has had some notable successes, such as the recent one on colleague discount. Council members passed on colleagues' confusion over the entitlement to discount. As a result, the rules were clarified and the policy updated.

Universal There are also ongoing discussions about uniforms and colleague catering. Peter said: "If the consultation is done properly, some issues take a while to resolve so don't expect change overnight. We often find that the same issues pop up in different stores - proving that some topics are universal, and those are the ones we'll tackle at the Sainsbury's colleague council. More local issues are best dealt with at local level."

Ken McMeikan thinks that's exactly what the colleague council is there for. He said: "It's vital that we get to hear the view of colleagues and it's equally vital that we listen and take note of their views. We may not be able to act on those views all the time, but we can do our very best to take them into account and that's really important in a people business."

Taikback Like all the council reps, Pat is committed to representing colleagues' views on the council. She said: "We need colleagues to help us to help them. Tell us what your issues are and we'll do our best to get them aired. If we don't know what you want, then we can't do our best for you, so please get in touch." • Want to know who your zone rep is? Ask your personnel manager for more information.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

ith your local

PETER MCGOWEN-KEMP

CAROL GRADWELL

j P ™ * ^ STEPHEN O'CONNOR

JUNE SHEPARD

PATRICIA BAYLISS

MARIUSZ POLESZAWK

SUE KEIR

SYLVIA GATWARD

MAUREEN BOWEN

JOAN MELLING

ANDREW MUNN

% MOHOONEE,

VACANCIES

Make room for non-foo A new initiative called compelling non-foods shows it's possible to retain a store's food range while expanding general merchandise - without an extension. We talked to St Clares store to see how it works in practice

What would you say if someone said you could get double-digit growth in your store without adding extra space?

A new project called compelling non-foods (CNF) has proved it's possible in ten stores and general merchandise operations manager Neil Kinner is so confident of its success that he's preparing to bring more stores into the project.

He said: "Non-food is an important - and growing - market for us and we must make the most of it. Of course, Sainsbury's is still a food retailer and we're certainly not introducing CNF at the expense of food - far from it. The range of CNF complements food and makes us a one-stop-shop. Customers come to us primarily for the range and quality of our food - this is our chance to offer them something more."

Pilot The pilot stores stock some different products not previously seen in Sainsbury's stores such as mobile phones, fine jewellery and car care.

St Clares store in south west London was part of the original pilot project. The store went live with compelling non-foods in October 2005 and hasn't looked back since. Duty manager Vicky Cooper joined the store for the roll-out. She said: "It's all about selling new and different things in a different way. We've got a bigger range of clothing and homeware, and our sound and vision section is better.

"If there's any secret to success it's having an eye for displays. It's important to follow the guidelines but there's a lot we can do to make our displays appealing. If

Aisle be there... Car care, sound and vision and clothing are all important aspects of compelling non-foods

you've got an eye for what looks good, you're half-way there.

"The reaction from customers has been fantastic and that's shown in our sales vyhich are up 24 per cent year-on-year.

"Customers can't believe we've fitted in so much on top of our food range, but it's true. The new layout has made the aisles tighter so we can fit the food into a smaller space."

Winner With results like these, Neil is confident that non-foods can be a winner even in the smallest stores. He said: "Even if you don't have much space, there are still things you can do to make the most of non-food sales. We've worked hard on newspapers and magazines recently - as our availability has improved, so have our sales. We are now the fastest-

growing supermarket for magazines selling 150,000 more per week than last year.

"Over the coming months we're concentrating on stamps, e-top-up and Lottery sales. These are essentials with huge potential but they don't take up much space so it's an opportunity for every store. It's important to remember that these products are different to our core food offering so we need to think differently about how we sell them.

Lottery "For example, 70 per cent of the adult population regularly buys a Lottery ticket and 11 per cent of those sales come from scratchcards so we must make it easy for people to buy them in our stores - keep the displays big and the queues small.

"There's great potential in compelling non-foods and it's a chance for

us to try something new."

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Do you volunteer or fundraise for a charity or other good cause? Well then Local Heroes 2006 is here!

Local Heroes is now in its sixtii year and 2005 was tiie most successful ever. Sainsbury's has now donated over £500,000 to charities and other great causes in recognition of the extraordinary efforts of colleagues.

However, Sainsbury's wants 2006 to be bigger and better than ever. So if you support a good cause, either by volunteering your own time or f undraising, then Sainsbury's will add to your efforts with a cash donation to your chosen group.

Simply coaching a local football team, volunteering with the Brownies, helping out at a lunch club or just raising money is enough to qualify for a cash award.

Anyone can apply. If you have been employed for over three months in any location, your cause could be richer - and all you have to do is fill in a form.

There are three awards available - individual volunteering, individual fundraising and team fundraising. If you spend your time outside work volunteering for

organisations like the British Red Cross, listening to people's problems as a Samaritan or helping out at your local school, you can apply for an individual award of £200. And one-off fundraising efforts don't go unnoticed either. So if you are planning to parachute out of a plane or go naked rambling in support of a charity -then your efforts will be matched by up to £200.

I much they helped me raise the money," said Andrew. "Local Heroes is excellent and I'm very proud to be part of a company that puts so much effort into raising money for causes. I was invited to the awards event in November and took my mum along - we had a great day."

Andrew is continuing to raise

Respect for the individual

Donation Similarly, if you and one or more colleagues form a team to raise funds for good causes, then you could bump up your collection with a donation of up to £500 from Sainsbury's.

Monks Cross customer service assistant Andrew Fair (above) raised £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief with the help of Local Heroes. He took part in the "Macmile Challenge" by walking from his home to work every day.

"I had excellent support from my colleagues -1 couldn't fault how

company that puts so much effort H

much-neeocu funds for charities close to his heart and is planning to make Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) the next organisation to benefit.

He said: "I'm going to help a colleague of mine raise funds for FSID as she sadly lost her child to cot death. I hope that we can raise lots of money for this special charity and that Local Heroes can be involved."

HE rAu i ^ • Sainsbury's will reward fundraising efforts yvith match funding of up to £500 for teams and £200 for individuals. • If you use your spare time to volunteer, Sainsbury's wilt reward your good work with a cash payment of £200.

• Ask your personnel manager for an application form and just follow the instructions.

Copies can be downloaded from Connect. • All colleagues can apply if Sainsbury's has employed you for more than three months. • If you have received money

from Local Heroes in previous years, don't panic!

You can still apply r this year to sure that you

can keep on giving. • The scheme is open each year from April until

February and culminates in a celebration event at the store support centre in March 2007. • Colleagues who fundraise for Sport Relief outside of the internally managed Sainsbury's events can apply for matched funding (eg the Sport Relief Mile events on 15 July).

J Productnews m^m Look out for these new products conning to stores soon

The white stuff In a bid to keep up with the rising demand for organic millt, Sainsbury's intends to sell milk from British farms that it is helping to convert to organic standards.

This Is the first time a major retailer will work directly with farmers to encourage them to undertake the change to organic. In the past, the time and cost implications involved in the process have proved to be a deterrent to farmers. However, the Sainsbury's scheme will cover all the additional costs during the period of conversion.

Sainsbury's is committed to working with farmers for a minimum of three years and three months - the longest-term milk contract between retailer and farmer in the industry.

Sainsbury's currently sells 40 million litres of organic milk and this is expected to to 50 million litres next year.

40 million litres of organic milk'

COTTON ONTO FAIRTRADE Sainsbury's has placed the UK's biggest ever single order of Fairtrade cotton. The supermarket ordered 40 tonnes of the cotton earlier in the year, and aims to produce 200,000 ^airtrade cotton t-shirts to support Sport Relief. This is the first time that Fairtrade-certified cotton from West Africa is being brought to the UK high street.

Planting trees for calmer chickens Over one million trees are being planted to create a natural habitat for Sainsbury's organic and free-range egg-laying tiens.

Egg buyer, Rob Farn said: "Studies show that the birds remain much calmer when they use the tree- and bush-planted range.

"Our customers are particularly interested in supporting free-range egg farms and this project will also mean that they can now help towards planting more trees in the UK."

Thousands of trees have already been planted, creating a wood the size of 80 football pitches.

More than 30 farms are taking part in the initiative and by the end of 2006, all Sainsbury's SO organic eggs will be sourced from woodland farms. By the end of 2007 all Sainsbury's free-range eggs will be from woodland farms.

Whisky's turning Japanese Sainsbury's is turning to the Orfen by introducing a Japanese whisky to its range.

The Yamazaki Whisky is named after the Japanese village in which it is made, famed for its pure waters, tea ceremonies and samurai warriors.

The unique environment is both humid and mountainous and this affects the air as the whiskies mature in their w casks.

Yamazaki is matured i several casks: American Oak casks, Oloroso Sherry casks from Spain and a Japanese Water-Oak cask.

Exclusive to ' Sainsbury's at £24.99, Yamazaki 10-year-old has won a silver and two I bronze medals in the International Spirits | Challenge. |

SINCU; MALT WHKkT

"We put Basics to the test" Basics is all about value-for-money - great products at unbelievable prices.

A chocolate bar for 25p? Sounds too good to be true! The Basics range is certainly good value, but what about the quality? We asked four colleagues from Crawley store to open the no-frills pacl<aging and try out products from across the whole range. Here's their verdict.

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KAT PLOWMAN Assistant personnel manager MWk chocolate bar 25p

"This chocolate tasted lovely It's very nice and creamy - more like a Belgian chocolate than an everyday brand. It's such good value for 25p. I'm a chocoholic so that's high praise indeed!

"The packaging is simple but it does say that what you see is what you get, and inside it's even better.

"Itdid tend to stick to the roof of my mouth. But that — might have been

because "' I had

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KATH RAiNGER Personnel manager Strawberry yoghurt 8p

"I normally choose luxury yoghurts so I didn't know what to expect from the Basics range. Intact it was very nice and fruity-quite sharp and not too sweet.

"Idon't like lots of big, soggy strawberries in my yoghurt and there wasn't a lot of fruit in it which, for me, was a good thing!

"The packaging is all white and if I was in a rush I might not buy it because you have to look closely to see what flavour it is."

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GLEN LEACH Kiosk assistant Kitchen roll 98p

"I was expecting to have to pay for quality but this kitchen roll was more absorbent than the branded versions.

"I'm a nightmare for spilling things and I tested it on tea, coffee and milk. It was strong and didn't tear.

"The packaging was eye­catching but not 1 as good as the product, which was brilliant. My mum buys one of the big brands but she's going ;:, to start buying i this one now!"

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BOB HOPKiNSON Checkout operator Cheese grater 94p

"The grater may be basic but it's easy to use, lightweight and handy It's quite small so you canjust useit in the palm of your hand

"You can grate ,, everything from / Caerphilly to

Parmesan cheese. The Parmesan was thin and light when I grated it,

"I didn't find any drawbacks at all-it's so easy to use for a great price. Perfect for anyone ,on a budget."

If you'd like your store or depot to take part in the Journal's product tests, then get in touch with the editorial team (address details on page 20)

Shininastars Colleagues have helped increase sales across the country - and they've got the Shining Stars to show for it

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Practice makes

Colleagues at Darnley store in Glasgow have every reason to celebrate. Along witti St Clares, Marsh Mills, Chase Lane and Canley, Darnley is one of five stores to expand its general merchandise departnnent with outstanding results. Colleagues won 100,000 Shining Stars for the best sales in white goods and mobile phones - that's £1,000 worth of shining stars.

Plans to expand the general merchandise department at Darnley were announced in June 2005, including increasing the size of the clothing department, as well as introducing mobile phones and white goods to the store.

"Whereas before, the non-food and electrical departments would just take up a wee corner of the store, they now take up half the space we have here," explains

general merchandise manager, Maria McGale.

Activity training played a pivotal role in the expansion process, with colleagues spending one day

learning about a wide range of topics, from the ins and outs of home furnishings to displaying newspapers. "Good training makes for a good store," explains Maria.

"Now the team here is very confident about dealing with customers. It's important to introduce the personal touch even when you're working in a big store. We find our customers use our colleagues' first names to speak to them on a regular basis."

Andrew Bennett, who moved from working on the checkouts to serving customers in Darnley's newly expanded general merchandise department, says that the training has given him a much better insight into his new department. "The training involved learning about our seven departments - from food to white goods and jewellery - and now I feel able to help in all aspects of general merchandise."

Colleagues at Darnley were delighted to receive their Shining Stars from operations manager, general merchandise, Neil Kinner. "We were awarded £500 worth of stars for mobile phones and £500 for white goods, sharing £500 with the whole store," explains Maria. "We've decided to spend the stars on a meal followed by 10-pin bowling. It'll be a chance for team building and a great night out!" • See page 12 for more information on the compelling non-food project.

Supermarketin The Nectar campaign • encouraging stores to promcE the reward scheme has already started showing promising "^ results.

For three weeks between 18 January and 7 February • stores were asked to drive Nectar in-store. The campaign aimed to sign-up the growing number of new customers shopping with Sainsbury's, engaging them with the

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scheme, and to ensure existing customers continue to swipe their card to reap the benefits of Nectar.

Congratulations to the checkout colleagues at Sedlescombe Road, who won the Shining Stars competition

ir the best in-store campaign, his included kitting

themselves out in Nectar-wear anrf one colleague, Kirsty

|on, even decorated her With the Nectar logo!

ley received 100,000 Shining

Star points for their efforts. The campaign saw a

20 per cent growth in weekly applications being processed.

Runners up The runners-up, who all received 10,000 Shining Stars, were: Wiimslow Ipswich Farnham Rhyl Ladbroke Grove Denton Swansea Warrington Haverhill Oldham Worcester

TellJustin More great ideas are JDeing implemented through Tell Justin, making life easier for colleagues and customers

"Let's shout about our winners" The BWS team has won so many awards in recent months that it's hard to keep up with their success.

Stuart Brierley, a CTS at Ashton Moss, Lancashire, prides himself on his stock knowledge but he needed some help when a local businessman asked to buy every bottle of the store's winning wines from the International Wine Challenge.

He explained: "We have a regular customer who is really into his wine. We got chatting one day and he asked me to point out all our award-winning wines with a view to buying all our stock. I was able to show him guite a few but I needed to talk to the buyer at the store support centre for the most up-to-date list.

"That got me thinking that it would be good to have a leaflet we could hand out to show off just how good our selection is."

So Stuart wrote to Tell Justin with his idea. Trading director Mike Coupe thought this was an excellent idea and the up-to-date list has been available on Connect since January.

Stuart is delighted that his suggestion has been implemented but he's not resting on his laurels. He said: "The list is really useful for colleagues, but I think we could do more and make it available for customers, too. Maybe we could send it out to selected Nectar card holders and members of the drinks club. We should shout about our success so they can see the guality of our products."

Fresh idea for produce labelling With 14 years' experience under his belt, Nick Lambert, duty manager at Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear, cast his mind back a few years to solve a labelling problem in the produce department. He explained: "On produce, we often display crates in front of each other so space can be tight. I wanted to find a clear way of labelling so there would be no confusion about prices.

"A few years ago we used a system in frozen foods where tickets were labelled front, centre and rear. It's simple but it worked really well and I thought we could transfer the idea to fresh produce."

So Nick wrote in to Tell Justin with his suggestion. Trading director Mike Coupe replied saying: "This is a great idea and it

is good to hear you are thinking of ways to make colleagues' and customers' lives easier."

To assess the idea's effectiveness, Nick oversaw a trial at Whitley Bay before the system was rolled out to all stores at the end of March.

Nick said: "This is the sort of improvement that most customers wouldn't notice, but it's been a hit with those who have queried prices in the past. And colleagues have been pleased because they're getting fewer price queries.

"I've sent in a few suggestions to Tell Justin and this is the first that has been implemented. It's fantastic that someone is listening to colleagues. I'll definitely send in more suggestions next time I get a bright idea."

b > ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ • ^ If you've got a bright idea, simply write It down on one of the suggestion cards and send it off in the internal post

the name of health Watchmoor Park pharmacy help colleagues and customers kick their smoking habit

Watchmoor Park pharmacy department joined forces with West Surrey NHS Stop Smol<ing Service to encourage colleagues and customers to kicl< the habit.

Colleagues dressed up as giant cigarettes while professionally trained advisors handed out leaflets with information on the benefits of stopping smoking and the help and support available.

Pharmacist assistant Sam Simmons said: "It went brilliantly -we had such a good response. It was funny walking around with a giant cigarette and Paula Steadman was a great sport for volunteering to be the first to wear the costume.

"Feedback has been great and we have found that the majority of people want to give up smoking but they feel they don't have any support. That is why we did this -to show that there is support out there."

The pharmacy decided to get behind the stop smoking campaign to make people aware of the guidance they can provide, as Sam explained: "We were communicating that smoking is one of the biggest killers in this country and that smokers are not only harming themselves but the people around them -especially if they have children. The mention of children really hit home as most of the people asking for more information were parents."

She continued: "We were even a bit naughty by going to the cigarette kiosk while people were gueuing to buy cigarettes! And surprisingly that's where we got the majority of our sign-ups.

"We went into our staff restaurant and smoking room and put down leaflets. We just want colleagues to know that there is support out there and that their in-store pharmacy can help them.

Kicking butt...Lynn Austin, Samantha Simmons, Paula Steadman (cigarette), Claire Bond and NHS addiction councillor Fiona Cole spread their health message

"It was so funny seeing Paula in the costume - especially because she used to be a smoker! The cigarette definitely got people's attention."

Addiction NHS addiction councillor Fiona Cole, who was also on hand to deal with customer and colleague queries, said: "The uptake after just one day of what the team have been doing has surpassed all my expectations. The amount of people they have managed to get

over to the information desk has been amazing.

"I took people's carbon monoxide readings and gave out information on clinics they can go to - to help them stop smoking and stay off the cigarettes."

"The promotion wouldn't have been this successful if it wasn't for the enthusiasm of the pharmacy colleagues," Sam added. "We all support each other here and make such a good team."

More than just an X Factor '-"-agues in Washington, Tyne

Vear, were treated to an promptu treat from the group

4. The group, whose music is Hp'ibed as "pop opera", were

e store signing copies of new album when they i into song to the delight of omers and colleagues alike.

"They were a fantastic bunch • the customers loved them," j Marion Keogh, electrical

assistant. "They were here for more than three hours making sure every single person who queued up met them and got a signature."

The X Factor finalists' appearance also helped CO sales In-store shoot up by an extra £1,500. Marion said: "We needed all the extra copies we could muster, although I still haven't got one myself!"

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Jolly hockey sticks Christchurch store manager Darren Noonan witnessed the delivery of Active Kids sports equipment to Hiqiicliffe St Mark's Primary School.

ck-a-hoop ford store manager my Sanders helped thej Iren of Greengates 1 lary School accept I jery of their Active Kids ipment. "

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All the right equipment Low Hall dry goods manager Oliver Shayer and checkout manager Husrat Darr presented their local school, Chapel End Infant School, with their Active Kids equipment after the school collected more than 12,000 vouchers.

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Kitted out For fun Water Lane Active Kids co-ordinator Belinda Rolfe made Hale Primary School in Farnham's sports day when she brought along a selection of products from the store.

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Wingoodies For your chance to win some goodies answer both questions below!

Dogs fed daily with Pedigree* Daily Dentastix^, have up to sixty per cent less plaque and tartar build-up.

Eighty per cent of dogs over the age of three have gum disease - caused by plaque and tartar build-up around the gum line. Once present, it requires professional removal by a vet. Pedigree* Daily Dentastix* can help prevent this. With their unique shape an special texture specifically designed to rem dental deposits, Pedigree' Daily Dentastix' p a practical r( for you and \

dog. And because Pedigre Daily Dentastix" are as tasty as they are healthy, your dog will | really enjoy cleaning his teeth.] There are different packs to i suit every size of dog and eveni a monthly multipack that will J ensure you don't run out.

To make sure you too a keeping your pearly whites beaming, the Journal is offering readers the chance to |

ne of four | al-B Professional' ire* 7000 Ties electric Dthbrushes worth i4.95. So to be in th a chance to win, St answer both lestions below.

, Question 1: Name one of the products in the compelling : i i I non-food range I I'i^^,^^ Question2: What date is Be a Sport Saturday this year? j

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Contact tel no: • I I ' Entriesto:Competitions,Sa/ns£)ur/'sJoivrna/, 33 Holborn, London • i EC1N2HT, to arrive no later than 24 April, Entrants must work for I I or be retired fronnttieSainsbury Group or Accenture at Sainsbury's. I I Only one entry per person. Photocopies are acceptable. |

" ' " CONTRIBUTE ^ Write to: Sainsbury's Journal, Internal Communications, 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. e-mail: internal.comms@sainsburys.co.uk or telephone: 020 7695 0055 or fax: 020 7282 8042. General Sainsbury's inquiries: 020 7695 6000 Veterans' inquiries: 020 7695 7190. Produced by Citigate Publishing

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WELL DONE TO THE MARCH WINNERS... Suzanne Linacre from Worksop, Jill Baqgaley from Larkfleld, Paul Stuart from Greenwich, Alan Dickie from Castlepoint and Katie Mackney from Warrington Church St won a Percol hamper and Mr J Mackney from Warrington Church St, Mr S Yogakumar from Winchmore Hill, Mrs Z Wedral from Longwater Norwich, Michael Agbonkhing from Chessington, Juley Prentice from Apsley Mills, Kevin Rolling from Broad Street, Juliette JahaJ from Holborn, Maria Clark from Scunthorpe, Paul Frogley from Pulborough and Alicia Beauchamp from Newbury/Holborn each won a Cote d'Or chocolate selection.

"We're here to represent you" Want to get your voice heard by senior management? Look no further than the colleague council

If you work on the shop floor, how can you be sure that your views will be heard at the top of the company? The answer is through your colleague council.

Councils are action groups with elected members who represent colleagues across the company. They were first established in 1996 in response to a Talkback survey to improve communication and consultation between colleagues and the company - and they've been going from strength to strength ever since.

Improvers Today, councils have the opportunity to act as "improvers" by consulting with colleagues and contributing ideas and solutions to real business issues such as new policies or working practices, improving colleague motivation and dealing with practical issues that will improve the working environment. An effective store council can play a significant role in improving many scorecard KPIs including sales and customer service.

There are three tiers of councils - ensuring that colleagues' views are heard at every level. Store councils offer an opportunity for colleagues to be consulted on key issues and proposed changes that may affect them. It also allows for colleagues to communicate their ideas and suggestions. These councils are made up from representatives from each department.

and they'll seek our vie jm^liLflililAII^J'I'^iM^^

One of the key tasks for store councils is to drive the Talkback survey, encouraging colleagues to participate, cascading the results, and most important is creating an action plan to act on the results.

The next tier up from store councils is the zone council which enables representatives to hear from the zone managing director or divisional directors on business performance. Again, it's a chance

for colleagues to be consulted on proposals for change, and ideas from colleagues are communicated to the senior management team.

Consultation The third tier is Sainsbury's colleague council. There are 17 places on this council and it meets four times a year with chief executive Justin King, retail

director Ken McMeikan and other directors. This is Justin's chance to consult colleagues on

proposals for change that may affect them and also an opportunity

for colleagues to communicate their ideas to senior managers.

Pat Bayliss is a checkout trainer at Water Lane store in Farnham. She has been on the Sainsbury's colleague council for two years and relishes the chance to communicate directly with senior managers such as Justin and Ken. She said: "The council has definitely broadened my outlook of the business. I understand much more about how the company works now and the more I learn, the more

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For Sainsbury's • More great ideas to run the business • More involved, informed and motivated colleagues means a better deal for customers • Better quality decisions • Changes can be introduced quickly and smoothly without unnecessary surprises

For colleagues • A communication channel to put your point of view across • A forum that will make sure your ideas are heard and acted on • A forum for you to raise questions or concerns in confidence • You will be kept up-to-date with the company's progress • Opportunities to receive early news and information on company plans

For council representatives • Opportunity to develop new skills • Learn more about Sainsbury's and influence how decisions are made • Wider contacts in the business • Understanding that may help you in your future career • Demonstrate your ability to Ho;ii \A/ith r p ' i n n n t . i h i i ! ! - .

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

effective I am as a colleague representative."

What makes a good representative? "Listening and communicating," said Pat. "The whole purpose of the councils is to communicate - especially two-way communication. Managers listen to us and they'll seek our views if they need feedback."

Peter McGowan-Kemp from Partick store agrees. "I've really enjoyed my time on the council," he said. "It's been really good to see how things work at the top

end of the store and beyond. I find I'm able to raise the profile of the store and I can get colleagues' feedback on new initiatives. For example, we got a chance to hear about RSS when it was still in the trial stages. It's great to see it in action in-storenow."

The role of the councils is all about consultation; they are not a forum for negotiation. Colleagues have the opportunity to influence issues being discussed but decisions remain the responsibility of managers.

Council facts... the members of the Salnsbury's colleague council with retail director Ken McMeikan

The council has had some notable successes, such as the recent one on colleague discount. Council members passed on colleagues' confusion over the entitlement to discount. As a result, the rules were clarified and the policy updated.

Universal There are also ongoing discussions about uniforms and colleague catering. Peter said: "If the consultation is done properly, some issues take a while to resolve so don't expect change overnight. We often find that the same issues pop up in different stores - proving that some topics are universal, and those are the ones we'll tackle at the Sainsbury's colleague council. More local issues are best dealt with at local level."

Ken McMeikan thinks that's exactly what the colleague council is there for. He said: "It's vital that we get to hear the view of colleagues and it's egually vital that we listen and take note of their views. We may not be able to act on those views all the time, but we can do our very best to take them into account and that's really important in a people business."

Talkback Like all the council reps, Pat is committed to representing colleagues' views on the council. She said: "We need colleagues to help us to help them. Tell us what your issues are and we'll do our best to get them aired. If we don't know what you want, then we can't do our best for you, so please get in touch." • Want to know who your zone rep is? Ask your personnel manager for more information.