Wine specialist Majestic is to embark on an opening programme for the Vagabond wine bar chain it bought last year, Retail Week can reveal.
Majestic intends to target big cities for more Vagabond branches. At present there are nine bars, eight in London and one in Birmingham.
Majestic chief executive John Colley intends to open two new bars this year, possibly three. Two will be in the capital.
Colley said: “We will put more of these bars down in all the metropolitan locations across the UK – Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bristol etc.”
Majestic bought Vagabond out of administration last year for £6.5m. Vagabond hit trouble after expanding into airports, but Colley said the acquired business is doing well, sales are up by double digits and the bars are profitable.
Vagabond has just opened a revamped bar in London’s Battersea Power Station, representing the start of Majestic’s investment in the business.
Colley sees the purchase of Vagabond as an important point as the retailer moves into a new phase. He sees opportunity to drive the business through use of customer data and nurture a new generation of Majestic store customers.
He said: “If you come into any of the bars, they are packed full of young consumers with disposable money, very interested in coming to a great experience like Battersea, learning about interesting wines and having a good time.
“Then what we’ve got is the data behind that, which enables us to do whatever we want. Strategically, it is an extension of Majestic and in time will become more integrated with the customer database. It gives us more of an angle strategically as a group.”
He also sees potential in the longer term to open Vagabond bars internationally. He said: “Could we be sitting in a bar like this in Barcelona, Amsterdam? Yeah. This brand is easily transportable across borders.”
- Exclusive interview with John Colley in Retail Week tomorrow.
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