We design our stores to meet customer needs. As well as building new stores, we are constantly investing in our existing buildings. This means we can, through a programme of refits and extensions, continue to improve our offer to customers in individual stores. Upgrading and extending our stores, as we have done at Rochdale and Brislington for example, means we can add customer facilities and widen product ranges, helping to improve substantially the shopping experience for customers as well as providing good sales and profit growth. In a difficult planning environment we continue to develop interesting, flexible and profitable store formats to meet the needs of our customers. Superstores offer the widest range of products and services, while compact stores operate on a smaller scale, but still offer a large range of high quality goods in their neighbourhood. Metro stores bring Tesco quality to the high street, offering a range of products for town centre shoppers, while Express stores combine a petrol forecourt with a convenience store, providing local communities with a carefully selected range of products. This year we opened 32 stores, including the flagship Belfast Metro, our first in Northern Ireland. The beautifully restored former Provincial Bank building in Royal Avenue opened in October 1996. We also opened Metro stores in Cheapside (City of London), Manchester and Dundee. Flexibility is a key requirement, with award-winning architectural design and careful attention to landscaping helping our stores to blend in with the local environment. The new Llandudno store, for example, sports exposed wooden beams and sandstone brickwork so it is in keeping with its surroundings. Even its petrol station has a Welsh slate roof. Paul Moriarty, Store Manager, Gallows Corner, Romford Additional Information Chairman's statement Financial review List of stores UK store opening programmes