Stumbled across this on Our To5co:
I want to let you know about some changes we're planning to make to our Metro format. Over the last few years, we have seen our customers' shopping habits change and we have taken the decision to re-brand all of our Metro stores to better reflect this. Our Metro format was originally designed for larger, weekly shops, but today nearly 70% of customers use them as convenience stores, buying food for that day.
To ensure our offer continues to serve the needs of our customers, 89 of our Metro stores will re-brand to Tesco Express. The remaining 58 Metro stores will have their Metro signage removed and be referred to as Tesco Superstores.
These stores will receive new fascias over the coming months but will continue to trade normally.
Defo more restructuring particularly for those stores going to Express format
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Paving the way for team managers to be removed from the former metros
Will be interesting to see how this effects superstores, I belive that currently (or at least the case a few years back) sales in Metro contributed to superstore sales, not convenience, with the divide being more in favour of convenience than superstore, this should alter the data favourably for convenience when it comes to which makes the most sales out of superstore or convenience.
There's a lot of politics in massaging the figures and setting up data to make superstores seem more crucial to the company than they are. With the exception of sales patterns during covid, express and dot com are the way forward.
The Grocer.
Tesco scraps Metro format blaming shift in customer habits (https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/tesco/tesco-scraps-metro-format-blaming-shift-in-customer-habits/656183.article)
From reading it all they are doing is taking the Metro sign down and replacing it with a different one.
Hardly a massive change.
That's all it is and express prices
As normal we have not been told anything in our shop. Should have all been told internally on Tuesday. See if anything is said when I start at 11am.
What will happen to the metro store managers? As they are work level 3? And a site manager is work level 2? But more importantly, do you think the one team manager that was in the metro will go?
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Busy express stores have a team manager so I doubt metros would lose theirs.
Not in any I've seen or been in and I've worked in more than 10 Express stores, every Express as far as I'm aware has the structure SM -> Shift Leaders -> Step up Shift Leaders -> CA/SC/Admin.
Only 1 I know has a DM, but that's it, busier ones used to have SRMs but they got displaced by SLs along with Deputies.
I work in a metro that's about to be changed to express, I am currently the only team manager and have a store manager, I've been told the only change will be the name and the prices. But do you think my team manager role will go?
Metro shop floor spaces are much bigger than Express, even the small ones, The sales of a very low taking Metro store from what I remember was about £250-£300k a week, in comparison to a high taking Express, that's typically 2.5x the sales.
I think due to sales and staffing requirements, even with the brand change, logistically they can't like for like replicate Express's structure into these demoted Metro stores.
I think because of that, any immediate structure change wouldn't be a smart move. I do think something will be done though, probably akin to more SLs on the floor to replace current TMs, but that won't come until later.
You may be right given the space issue but could tesco just block off part of the shop floor in the demoted express stores to bring them more in line with a normal express, and therefore one assumes staff cutbacks could quickly follow, but its all up in the air right now, however I do feel there is more to all this than just a name change, maybe not in the coming weeks but in the coming months, seen this sort of thing far to many times in Tesco.
If they did that, then it woundn't just be a brand change like they're suggesting, if they limit the shop floor space to bring it in line with Express, they would limit sales, but they would also have an abundance of staff, it wouldn't be cost effective to have a Metro headcount in an Express sized shop, meaning unless they're transferring them out somewhere else, it'd be a lot of people losing their jobs. A high taking Express store has about 30 members of staff, the majority on part time hours, A low taking Metro has over 100.
The store I work in has been told we will be now be express and suddenly right hours right place has started again. Have been told so many hundred hours need to be lost.
I knew it wasn't just a name change, just an elaborate way it seems, for them to cut staff.
Called it as per my last post.
Saying this though, not sure how they can get around not paying redundancy outside of transfers to other stores.
All of this are always about cutting cost, because upper management got no skill to increase the sale, to fight head on on sales or expansions with lidl and aldi, meanwhile the mid and lower management often focus on how their shop looks good in the eyes (subjectively) and come up with some more silly idea without back it up on the paper with full financial analysis, of at least half baked financial projection for any changes.
They seem to be sidelining certain members of staff for transfers from what I've heard so far.
What do you mean?
Quote from: Totot on 17-06-21, 02:37PM
All of this are always about cutting cost, because upper management got no skill to increase the sale, to fight head on on sales or expansions with lidl and aldi, meanwhile the mid and lower management often focus on how their shop looks good in the eyes (subjectively) and come up with some more silly idea without back it up on the paper with full financial analysis, of at least half baked financial projection for any changes.
It's not so much lack of skill by upper management to increase sales as poor strategic vision that customers would replicate superstore shopping habits in them.
It would have made much more sense to further sub-categorise Metro stores, broadly speaking, Express stores take in between 35-200k a week, Metros low 200s-£750k a week, superstores £400k-£1.5 million a week and extras £1 million - £4 million a week.
Just as there's cat 1-4 for Express Stores, there's too many superstores taking less than Metros formats.
Why cant they just be called shops, what benefit does calling them metros or superstores or extras have?
I'm with you, it's a SHOP.
So do you think the one standing team manager will go? And the store manager role will change to an express site manager role?
Site manager job title went years ago, it's now express store manager
We should call them all either.
Arkrights and granvilles for store managers and other managers
or
Reg Holdsworths and Curly watts.
would be a lot easier.
We have not been told anything about another heat map right hours right place in our Metro store. Anyone got any more information. Will they make people redundant again if your availability and score don't match up to tesco needs.
By the sounds of it, it's not just a format name change to Express or Superstore, it seems that they're rolling out structural changes to these stores on a store by store basis, might take a bit of time for it to hit your store, but definitely looks like they're going to be either making cuts or in the minority of these changed stores, increasing hours.
I am surprised our store is going to a express. We are crazy busy. With 80 plus delivery cages every day apart from a Sunday. Then we have milk and bread on top. We are one of the top performing stores for our size. We are not very big for a metro tho. You can't pull cages onto the shop floor as just far to many people shopping. Watch this space
Our metro is only small and takes 400k a week. We get 80 cages a day then milk and bread on top. We have huge queues for the tills. We are city centre next to a uni also. I was surprised we got put down to a express.
As far as I know the only metros going to a superstore name are those with a car park , nothing to do with takings
Any one heard anything more on this topic. Job cuts and so on. Gone quiet now, Thanks.
They take one sign down and replace it with another, thats about it.
So they have a completely different structure in some expresses with an actual store manager, and a team manager... but others they just have a site manager??
My store is changing from a Metro to an Express. Next weekend we are expecting major repricing (over 6000 labels) and remerching in several departments to bring us in line with the Express format. I dread to think how much business we will end up losing, we are still down on pre pandemic levels due to the town centre being quieter than previously that this feels like another nail in the coffin.
Quote from: Safeway on 08-07-21, 06:34PM
So they have a completely different structure in some expresses with an actual store manager, and a team manager... but others they just have a site manager??
Every express has a store manager, some store managers run two stores and are known as dual site store managers, the job title of "site manager" in express was changed to store manager in about 2011. Structure in express is, store manager, shift leaders and ca's.
So that means the team managers that are in place will go??? As a metro has a team manager.
If the recategorisation of Metros is dependent on whether it has on-site parking or not, then depending on the correlation of on-site parking to sales, if it's positive, then these stores will become superstore and the factor of store takings in categorisation of store will maintain it's integrity.
If it's not correlated, then the implications are that takings will no longer be a factor/a lesser factor in store categorisations as we would then have some Metro turned Expresses taking more than some Metro turned superstores, store structure and staff numbers are currently heavily dependent on store takings (you can't really justify having a store manager, 3 lead managers, 6 team managers, a few shift Leaders and 65 ca's in a superstore that takes £300k a week while at the same time a Metro turned Express is taking £1 million a week with 1 Store Manager, 5 shift leaders and 20 ca's).
If car parking is nothing to do with the decision on which stores are Superstores and which are Expresses and it is based on takings (as it should be) then there may be a recategorisation on Express formats (currently cat 1-cat 4), to be cat 1- cat 6, with cat 5 snd cat 6 Express stores requiring a Team Manager (essentially Metros current structure) while cat 7's to cat 10's go with Superstore/Extra structure.
Shoppers will hold a protest outside Tesco in Leamington's Parade after the store increased some of its prices due to a 'rebranding' (https://www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/business/shoppers-will-hold-a-protest-outside-tesco-in-leamingtons-parade-after-the-store-increased-some-of-its-prices-due-to-a-rebranding-3333615)
The natives are getting restless.
No doubt the move to express pricing is just the first change for the metros that did not become large format stores, far more to all this than meets the eye in my own opinion.
Inclined to agree Penguin.
I'd imagine the Metros who have converted to Express must have a far higher head count than they would've done if they solely opened as an Express years ago?
Anything happening with opening hours on Sunday?
Will they keep 6 hours of trading or go longer opening times?
Sunday opening times is based off the shop floor space, though I can't remember the exact number, if the shop floor area is larger than what's stipulated, it falls under sunday trading rules (i.e can't be open past 4pm), it doesn't matter if there's Express signage on the shop or not.
As for the price differences, this is due to the shop floor space as well as amount of stock ordered, the more stock is bought in bulk the cheaper it becomes, typically Express stores are limited on space and therefore Tesco puts a premium on it, if sales are also not strong enough however, then the amount ordered in wouldn't be enough to see the cost savings on bulk buying therefore rather than have a mass of stock not selling on the backstock possibly going out of code, they have a more reactive sales order model.
I know of a few stores where regular shoppers are going to other shops now. Our store use to take crazy money. I can see it losing lots off money. I would say we have lost 40 percent of customers now. Maybe more. Can not say much on our deliveries being smaller as everywhere is struggling to get a full one.
Any one heard about job losses possibly happening? We have no staff as it is
Quote from: tablet on 08-08-21, 10:31PM
Anything happening with opening hours on Sunday?
Will they keep 6 hours of trading or go longer opening times?
Quote from: NightAndDay on 08-08-21, 11:08PM
Sunday opening times is based off the shop floor space, though I can't remember the exact number, if the shop floor area is larger than what's stipulated, it falls under sunday trading rules (i.e can't be open past 4pm), it doesn't matter if there's Express signage on the shop or not.
As for the price differences, this is due to the shop floor space as well as amount of stock ordered, the more stock is bought in bulk the cheaper it becomes, typically Express stores are limited on space and therefore Tesco puts a premium on it, if sales are also not strong enough however, then the amount ordered in wouldn't be enough to see the cost savings on bulk buying therefore rather than have a mass of stock not selling on the backstock possibly going out of code, they have a more reactive sales order model.
Tesco will just reduce shop floor space to get the store below the requirements for longer trading times on Sunday if they go down that route.
https://www.acs.org.uk/advice/trading-hours (https://www.acs.org.uk/advice/trading-hours) a little info for interested persons.
Quote from: NightAndDay on 08-08-21, 11:08PM
Sunday opening times is based off the shop floor space, though I can't remember the exact number, if the shop floor area is larger than what's stipulated, it falls under sunday trading rules (i.e can't be open past 4pm), it doesn't matter if there's Express signage on the shop or not.
Just wondering if a shop that is larger than what is allowed could partition off part of the shop on Sundays to allow them to stay open longer?
QuoteThis area includes all parts of the shop you use to display goods and serve customers. You can't get around the restrictions by closing off parts of your shop on certain days.
Quote from: Vinny1985 on 09-08-21, 07:35AM
I know of a few stores where regular shoppers are going to other shops now. Our store use to take crazy money. I can see it losing lots off money. I would say we have lost 40 percent of customers now. Maybe more. Can not say much on our deliveries being smaller as everywhere is struggling to get a full one.
Any one heard about job losses possibly happening? We have no staff as it is
Overtime and base hours go on sales. If sales are lower it will result in less overtime to start with and then if it continues the future recruitment may be affected. Over a more prolonged period the level of cover in the store could be addressed but depending on turnover of colleagues it may take a while.
The problem is it becomes a spiral downwards. If your store is classed as over hours if anyone leaves they can't be replaced. So if Adam (Fri, Sat evenings) quits the store will have even less resources to complete routines on those nights causing the employees that are left to become even more stressed and likely to leave. The pressure causes those left to look elsewhere and so more leave and the spiral continues.
In the head office world with a flexible workforce people are willing at the drop of a hat to move from a school hours 10-3 weekday job to cover a 7-midnight Friday and Saturday shift......the reality is people do have commitments and a life out of Tesco.