American adventure for Larne ASDA manager

General store manager Simon Fisher, who works at Asda in Larne, has been handpicked from among 170,000 eager colleagues to travel to Walmart’s annual shareholder’s conference in Bentonville, Arkansas next month.

Simon was selected to represent Asda in Northern Ireland in recognition of him going ‘above and beyond the call of duty.’

He was nominated by his managerial peers as the ideal person to represent the company.

During the trip, Simon will get the chance to mingle with a surprise selection of stars. In the past, famous faces such as Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Tom Cruise and Miley Cyrus have attended the event at Walmart’s headquarters.

Simon will also have the opportunity to meet 20,000 fellow colleagues from all around the globe, learning about different cultures and networking with teams from countries as far afield as India, China and Canada.

Simon commented: “I was absolutely delighted when I found out that I had been nominated to attend this year’s Walmart Shareholders’ conference to represent Asda and my local area.

“I’ve been working for Asda for 14 years and this year marks my first year as a store manager which coincides well with my nomination.

“The conference is a fantastic once-in-a-lifetime experience that I have always wanted to be a part of.

“To learn about the origins of Asda, about how the business operates on the other side of the world, and appreciating the other cultures within the Walmart family are things that I’m very much looking forward to.

“What I most want to bring back from the experience to Northern Ireland, however, is Walmart’s messages to its colleagues, both business and cultural, and an ability to use this knowledge to continue to drive our company forward and make it the best it can be.”

Senior director of Asda NI George Rankin said: “Simon is a fantastic example to us all of how every Asda colleague should behave, and this brilliant opportunity is a well-deserved reward, as reflected in his nomination by his peers, in recognition of his dedication to his job, delivering the highest customer service and going that extra mile for every customer, and his ambition to consistently drive Asda forward as a leader in the market.

“The conference is a great introduction to new cultures and colleagues from the Walmart family from across the globe.

“Everyone in store is really proud that Simon was selected out of 170,000 colleagues to attend this year and we have no doubt that he will not only be a brilliant representative for Asda but will gain a wealth of knowledge and skills from the experience, and we look forward to hearing all about it when he returns.”