Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, is hiring 200 colleagues to work in its nationwide portfolio of stores as part of its biggest ever pre-Christmas recruitment drive.
Majestic is expanding its workforce with a combination of permanent positions and temporary festive roles as it gears up for the golden quarter and lays the foundations for future bricks-and-mortar growth. The retailer enjoyed the second-biggest Christmas in its 43-year history in 2022 and aims to beat that impressive performance this year.
The roles available include delivery drivers, sales assistants, assistant managers and trainee managers, who are put on learning and development programmes that provide a clear pathway to becoming a store manager within 12 months. Permanent positions include those available at new Majestic stores in Crouch End, Chippenham, Monmouth and Christchurch – all of which are due to open ahead of Christmas.
The hiring spree comes as Majestic, which was shortlisted in the Retail Week Awards Happiest Place to Work category in 2022, seeks to accelerate its growth plan with the backing of owners Fortress Investment Group. Since moving back into private ownership after separating from Naked Wines plc in 2019, Majestic has returned to growth and stability. In contrast to many UK retailers, it has invested heavily in physical retail, opening 11 new stores during the past three years and refurbishing dozens more. Majestic Commercial – the on-trade arm of Majestic – has also celebrated a post-pandemic recovery with more than 400 new bars, pubs and restaurants signed up during 2022/23.
Majestic currently employs more than 1,400 colleagues across its 204 UK stores, its Hemel Hempstead distribution centre and its Support Centre in Watford. Its highly qualified retail teams sit at the very heart of the business, delivering on its mission to help customers discover and buy wines, beers and spirits they will love. Majestic invests heavily in the learning and development of its store colleagues, all of whom are trained to at least Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2.
In April, Majestic made its biggest ever investment in colleague pay to better recognise the expertise and experience of store teams, and shield its people from the impact of rising living costs. All store colleagues were awarded a basic pay increase that took their hourly rate to at least £10.60, ahead of the National Minimum Wage.
The increased base rate was brought in alongside a new incremental pay structure, which rewards colleagues for their WSET qualification level, their experience with Majestic, and the size of the shop that store managers and assistant managers are in charge of.
It means that store managers who are qualified to WSET Diploma level, highly experienced, and hold the keys to Majestic’s best-performing shops can now earn as much as £11,700 more per year in addition to their base salaries.
As a result of the new base rate and pay structure, Majestic’s store colleagues received an average salary increase of 6.7% in 2023/24. They were also awarded an additional £250 bonus as a thank you for their efforts during 2022/23, and have retained the ability to earn uncapped bonuses based on their store’s performance against sales targets.
Store colleagues can also win all-expenses-paid incentive trips to wineries around the world to further their wine knowledge. This year, around a quarter of Majestic’s Retail colleagues will enjoy once-in-a-lifetime trips to destinations including California, Australia, Chile and Mexico.
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Christmas is always an exciting and busy time for Majestic, and this year we are looking for more new colleagues than ever to come and join us. Our new team members will not only help us to deliver our biggest Christmas ever, but will play a key part in our ambitious growth plans for next year and beyond.
“During what are challenging economic times, we are proud to be investing in our stores, creating jobs and recruiting skilled, passionate colleagues – including those whose careers in retail may have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis or redundancies.”
