Majestic Wine has been owned by US investment group Fortress since the end of 2019 when it was spun off as a separate entity from former sister company Naked Wines. This has allowed Majestic to focus on the turnaround of the business under well-respected chief executive John Colley.
The retailer is concentrating on cementing its reputation as the UK’s number one specialist wine retailer no matter how its customers wish to shop. The core aim is to create the best in-store and omnichannel experience, with a renewed focus on bricks-and-mortar retailing through new and revamped stores, increased staff training, an improved online experience and a “vastly improved and expanded range of beers, wines and spirits”.
It trades from more than 200 Majestic stores across the UK as well as its online business which was replatformed in 2020 to give it a much more local approach.
Total sales rose 1.4% to £382.6m in the year to end-March 2022 (FY2021) on the back of a 24.3% surge the year before as the turnaround strategy started to pay off and the pandemic provided an additional boost to both store and online sales. Profitability has also continued to strengthen over the past two years.
Innovation rating: 2.5
