Majestic bolsters property team with two new roles

Majestic, the specialist wine retailer, has made two key appointments in its property team as the business gears up to accelerate its “ambitious” store opening plans. The retailer has created two new roles – director of estates and acquisitions, and director of format development and new store operations – as it reshapes its property team to deliver on its growth agenda. Stuart Williams will rejoin the business in the newly created role of director of estates and acquisitions. Williams, who is currently head of estates at nationwide hotel chain Travelodge, will take up the role in January 2024, with overall responsibility for finding new Majestic stores and managing existing lease agreements. Williams previously spent more than 20 years at Majestic, including 10 years as property director. He joined as a trainee manager in 1992, at a time when Majestic only operated 36 stores, and went on to manage its Salisbury and Maidenhead branches. After moving into the property department, he was involved in the acquisition of more than 130 Majestic shops as its portfolio swelled to 200 stores across the UK. He left Majestic in April 2016, after its store opening programme was halted by previous management at Naked Wines plc. He now returns with a wealth of retail experience having held senior property roles at Sofa.com, The White Company and Game, prior to joining Travelodge in October 2021. Upon rejoining Majestic, he will report to the retailer’s chief financial officer, Alex Jablonowski. Majestic’s director of property Andy Latham will take on the new role of director of format development and new store operations, also from January 2024. Latham will be responsible for planning, fitting out and setting up Majestic’s new stores ahead of opening, handing them over for business as usual in the best possible shape, and managing the retailer’s re-investment in refurbishing its existing estate. He joined Majestic in May 2021 having previously held senior property roles with major UK retailers including Woolworths, Boots and Kingfisher. In his new role, he will report to Majestic’s store operations director, Keith Blessley. Majestic CEO John Colley said: “We have ambitious plans over the next few years to open up to one new store per month and drive the growth of our Retail and Commercial businesses. To achieve this, we need to make sure we have the right structure and tools in place, and creating these two new roles in our property team is an important part of that investment. “I am delighted that Stuart has agreed to rejoin Majestic, overseeing our store acquisition strategy. He brings with him a huge amount of retail and property experience, as well as an intrinsic understanding of the Majestic business, our customers, our culture, and what we look for in a new store.” Colley continued: “Stuart’s appointment will allow Andy and his team to place an increased focus on format development, driving our bricks-and-mortar innovation and ensuring that our new stores get up to speed as quickly as possible before being fully handed over to store colleagues and regional retail teams. “Both Stuart and Andy will play crucial roles in the evolution of Majestic’s store portfolio and their appointments reaffirm Majestic’s ongoing commitment to physical, experiential retail.”