TAKING STOCK - Safeway's food for thought as FD is sent back to

If it’s tough at the top, then its certainly crowded at the bottom. This is a saying Simon Laffin, the finance director of supermarket Safeway is about to find out first hand as he prepares to join the proletariat with a stint as manager in a yet to be named superstore in the South-East. Laffin will check out the store at close quarters during a three-month stint following a brainwave by his extravert chief executive Carlos Criado-Perez. The whole episode certainly brings a new meaning to the expression ‘sent packing’ and TS sincerely hopes the store has some kind of promotion in store for Laffin after his ordeal is over. TS caught up with him as he prepared for his three-month stint. He said it will be ‘enormous fun’. Laffin’s 10-year-old son however was quick to pour cold water on the plan when told of his father’s new role at a superstore. ‘Don’t you think a superstore’s a bit ambitious for a beginner?’ he was told. ‘Shouldn’t you start with a petrol station …’ ?: