Majestic enjoys record Christmas trading
Majestic Wine has reported that its Majestic retail business had its biggest ever Christmas with like-for-like sales up 7.5% in the ten weeks to 2 January.
Group sales for the period increased by 15.3% year-on-year and by 12.4% on an underlying basis.
In a statement, Majestic said its gross margin percentage was around one percentage point lower than the same period in the prior year, due to a combination of accelerated acquisition of new customers and the need to remain competitive in a heavily discounted UK market still coming to terms with recent currency movements.
However, a focus on cost control means that profits are expected to be in line with market expectations.
Rowan Gormley, Majestic Wine chief executive, said: “Delivering strong like for likes in a tough market is a tribute to the hard work that our people put in – right across the business. It is also particularly pleasing that both Naked Wines and Majestic Commercial traded in line with expectations and Lay & Wheeler has maintained its strong growth.
“Our transformation plan is working and we remain on track to achieve our £500 million sales goal. We said that we would be better prepared for Christmas than ever – and the numbers show that we did what we said we would do.”
