"Bricks, clicks and flicks" key to Majestic's future growth
UK wine retailer Majestic Wine has confirmed it its sale to US firm Fortress, and pledged to keep its entire network of stores open, while focusing on “ambitious growth” .
The £95m sale comprising 190 stores in the UK and two in France has also seen former boss John Colley rejoin the business after his departure from Kingfisher as chief trading officer. Colley was managing director of the business between 2015 - 2017 and is returning to take over the helm.
As part of its plans for further growth, Majestic also unveiled the opening of a new store in Blackheath in south east London, its first in two years.
In a statement Fortress said it believed that getting Majestic back to what it does best, with a comvintaion of stores, online and direct mail will be the key to further growth.
“The key to Majestic’s future is simple” said Colley. “It’s the service our people provide, backed up by a range you simply cannot get anywhere else. That connection isn’t what it should be - so we need to get the wines back in that our customers (and staff) love first. That isn’t rocket science. Customers enjoy the connection to Majestic - to our wines, to our people and to our stores. We want to look at ways we can grow that connection further and not peel it back. That means bricks, clicks and flicks.”
Fortress and I see a huge opportunity in the UK over the next few years, and see Majestic as perfectly placed to take advantage. This is a fantastic country to sell wine in - the number one trading nation for vino in the world. And it needs Majestic at its heart”.
Colley predicted that English sparkling wine was set for a boom with a record number of bottles being sold this Christmas, while Austraian wine was another one to watch. “English Sparkling Wine just continues to power on. I predict there’ll be record numbers of English corks being popped this December. And as a bit of a dark horse, look out for Austria - particularly their whites. Our sales are up over 70% YOY already.“