Worthing team goes Cars crazy as finalists for Screwfix Store of the Year

Regional manager Simon Dennis, head of stores south west, and area manager Matt Fairclough joined the team at the Durrington store on Wednesday, November 11, for the occasion.

Matt had put forward the store as his area store of the year, then Simon judged them as regional store of the year, and now the Worthing store is one of six stores in the national final.

Ben said the 12 staff members had adopted a general movie theme for the first round but the Lightning McQueen costume made by Catherine Edwards was so good, they carried forward a Cars theme for the next round.

Catherine said she was a proud member of the team and she made different cars for everyone, spending about 20 hours on each, to get all the details right.

She said: “The event is the biggest we have held so far. We even featured a Lightning McQueen car, parked outside for the morning of the visit. We are currently in the top six stores, competing in the Screwfix Store of the Year final.”

Worthing-based Sussex McQueen loaned his life-size replica of Lightning McQueen to the store for the judging event. Staff from other Screwfix stores manned the counter to serve customers while the Worthing team spoke to the directors about their roles and why they enjoy working there.

The store opened on the Cignet Trading Estate in January 2024 and Ben said they had raised around £7,000 for charity in the past two years. As well as the Screwfix Foundation, donations have gone to Chestnut Tree House children's hospice, Ferring Country Centre and West Sussex Mind.

Matt told the directors he had given Ben advice on how to progress in the company when he first met him seven years ago, working at the Hove store, so it was 'a bit of a proud Dad moment'.

He said the Worthing store was his winner for the area because of consistency, the relentless focus on customer service and the culture, with 'consistently great' teamwork, engagement and development.