Being a good neighbour

The biggest way we contribute to any community is through our stores. In 2008 in the UK we opened 187 new stores, providing almost 12,000 new jobs. Building new stores also creates jobs through construction.

We listen to people in the community from the moment we identify a site for a new store or an extension. We want to respond to suggestions and concerns people might have. This does not stop once the store is open – when people tell us deliveries are creating congestion we act to adjust delivery times so they do not clash with busy periods such as the school run. This also helps to consolidate deliveries of our own and suppliers’ products to Express stores in the UK, which are in busy urban areas. For example, we have removed 57 deliveries each week to 19 Express stores in the North East of England.

Noise can also be a nuisance and we have found several ways to make deliveries quieter, including switching off fridges in lorries when they arrive at stores and automatically cutting off the radio when the cab door opens. A new low-noise delivery cage with plastic components cuts noise by 10 decibels and we have begun using a low-noise tail lift.