Majestic Wine has drafted in a new chief customer officer as it presses ahead with a drive to boost customer service and shopper loyalty.
Retail Week can reveal that Joshua Lincoln has taken on the role at Majestic’s retail division, after moving across from Naked Wines.
Majestic Wine acquired the online business, which was founded by Rowan Gormley, back in April 2015, before naming Gormley as group chief executive.
Lincoln spent almost a decade at Naked Wines following its UK launch in December 2008, culminating in the role of global sales and service director in the US.
He initially joined Majestic Retail on a temporary basis last year, but Gormley told Retail Week that the switch has now been made permanent.
Lincoln will report to Majestic Retail managing director, John Colley.
Speaking after unveiling a 7.5% spike in like-for-likes at Majestic Retail during the 10 weeks to January 2, Gormley said: “When Majestic bought Naked we said there were synergies that come from shared learnings. The best way to share learnings is to share people.
“This is a great way to take the Naked learnings, which are mainly in the marketing area, and embed them directly into the Majestic Retail marketing system.
“We were better prepared for Christmas and the key thing we did was recruit customers before Christmas came along, so we knew where the sales were going to come from.”
Gormley added: “If you start with good service you get loyalty. Good loyalty means good retention, which means more customers and more sales.
“That model is at the heart of Naked and it’s in Josh’s DNA.”
Despite Majestic’s sparkling Christmas sales, Gormley refused to get carried away by the group’s performance.
He hailed moves to improve availability, enhance the range, put more staff on the shop floor and roll out next-day home delivery, but insisted there was “more room for growth.”
Gormley said: “There’s a long way to go and there’s still a lot to do. But what is clear today is that the plan is working.
“It’s hard to forecast what comes next in 2017, but as far as the company is concerned and the way the plan is turning out is concerned, I think we are pretty happy.”
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