Overview

We are pleased to have successfully completed our largest merchandising and installation job of the year so far for the Tesco Superstore in Tiverton. RMS have been supporting Tesco with merchandising and installation for over a decade and in this time have built a strong and trusting relationship. 

After many years of successful trading and welcoming many customers through its doors, the Tiverton Tesco Superstore was due for a full store update. This was the perfect opportunity for Tesco to utilise RMS’ experienced teams to completely revamp the store so that it can continue to serve customers for years to come. 

For this project, RMS had been requested to trial a new approach to delivering a major refit within the Tesco store and as noted by the Retail Project Manager at Tesco, ‘it was a monster of a job’.

Approach 

The project was phased over a 3 month period with 13,718 hours of work delivered in total, comprising 11,952 hours of merchandising and 1,766 hours of installation. For this to be possible, we required a strong team of 5 during the day and a team of 12 merchandisers on nights. Both the day and night team were led by two experienced RMS team leaders who were crucial to making sure the project ran smoothly. 

The extent of the project called for every category within the store, apart from the clothing department, to be refitted. This required existing shelves to be utilised wherever possible and then supplemented with new where necessary. There were also some changes to the store layout, including the health and beauty space being swapped for new produce. 

Meetings with the store retail delivery manager were set on a regular basis to make sure the project was moving in the right direction, following the planogram and floorplan. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Challenges

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the refrigerators in the store were replaced with new units. During this, it was important to make sure that the fresh and frozen products were not out of the refrigerated space for more than 20 minutes. Therefore, it was imperative that the team were on the ball and swift to make sure the fresh produce was kept in a saleable condition. 

Another one of the main challenges on the project was condensing each of the grocery aisles by 20cm to create additional aisles for other departments. During this part of the project, it was really important that the floor plan was followed precisely to create the exact space needed and intended for each department. 

Installing and merchandising throughout the store trading times made some aspects of the project slightly more complicated as every care needed to be taken to make sure there were no disruptions caused to customers. 

The team were also working alongside other contractors in the store including builders, plumbers and electricians. However, as always our RMS employees showed respect and professionalism throughout their shifts allowing the store to trade with minimal disruptions and for all other contractors to work productively. 

Results and Benefits

The Tiverton store was completed to a high standard and in a timely manner, this was due to setting realistic goals and expectations along with the efficient communication and productivity of our team throughout the project. 

 

“Throughout the duration of the project at Tiverton, RMS have risen to any challenge and we couldn't have achieved the delivery of this programme without them. We are really pleased with the successful relaunch of the Tiverton Superstore.”  Jon Makin, Tesco Retail Project Manager.

Conclusion 

Tesco in Tiverton is now running as a fully revamped store where all of the available space has been fully maximised for providing a complete range of products to customers. The hard work from everyone involved has paid off and we are very proud of our team on this project who have delivered fantastic results and standards; demonstrating our RMS core values of Innovation, Integrity, Loyalty and Teamwork. 

“This project has been a really big one for the team and it has certainly kept me busy! It is great to finally see the positive results after all of the hard work planning, implementing and running the project. The teams that have worked on the project have been a total credit to RMS and they have truly embodied the teamwork ethos we strive towards here at RMS.”

Mike Higgins, RMS Senior Account Manager.