Majestic Wine plans 50 new store openings

Majestic Wine is planning to expand its high street presence with the opening of 50 more stores over the next four or five years, its boss has told The Telegraph.  

CEO John Colley told the paper that brick-and-mortar sites will remain “sacrosanct” for the group, which has already opened 15 new stores in the last four years following its acquisition by US private equity firm Fortress.

Colley said he now plans to “ramp up” this expansion, in particular targeting suburbs for new openings, with market towns such as Henley and Marlow set to be the focus of the group’s expansion plans. 

According to The Telegraph, the retailer also plans to roll out smaller stores as well as its warehouse-style outlets.

The news comes after Naked Wines, an online business which split from Majestic in 2019, posted a fall in sales. 

Colley told The Telegraph: “It’s a bit ironic that we’re now growing and opening shops while that digital business is finding it a bit more challenging.” 

Last week, Naked Wines lowered its full-year guidance amid a period of difficult trading, alongside news that CEO Nick Devlin is stepping down from his role with immediate effect.

With recent trading in the US being lower than expected, the group now expects full-year revenues to fall by 12% to 16%, down from a previously anticipated decline of 8% to 12%. Adjusted EBIT is also expected to be between £2-6m (previously £8-12m).

It comes as the group said that FY24 “started slower than expected”, with H1 revenues down by 17%. Over the period, UK revenues fell by 11%, while US and Australia sales were down by 20% and 19%, respectively.