Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, has opened two new stores in the same week for the first time in a decade, underscoring its commitment to innovating and investing in bricks and mortar.
The retailer toasted a triumphant return to Chippenham on Tuesday 24th October, four years after its former store in the town was closed down by previous management. Majestic opened its new 4,775sq ft store at the Old Foundry, on Foundry Lane, in close proximity to Waitrose – and just a five-minute walk from Chippenham train station.
Just two days later, on Thursday 26 October, Majestic opened the doors to its largest store in Wales and the second-biggest in its entire UK portfolio of 207 shops. The 6,275sq ft site in Monmouth sits alongside retailers including Waitrose, M&S Food and Cook on the popular Monnow Street. Only Majestic’s flagship in St John’s Wood, London, has a larger footprint than the new Monmouth store.
The openings represent a significant landmark for Majestic. The last time the retailer launched two stores in the same week came back in November 2013, when it opened for business in Cheadle and Tenterden. It marks a stark contrast in fortunes to just four years ago when, while still a part of Naked Wines plc, Majestic’s stores were being closed and the brand was in danger of disappearing from the high street altogether.
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Opening two stores in a week for the first time in 10 years underlines our ongoing commitment to physical, experiential retail, and offers a clear sign of how far we have progressed as a business under the ownership of Fortress.
“We always talk about our store colleagues as our secret sauce at Majestic – and opening more stores that provide more customers across the UK with access to our highly qualified experts and unique, quality wines is a strategy that is working. We are proud to be accelerating that pipeline of new store openings ahead of Christmas and are excited about becoming a part of even more communities across the UK in the coming months.”
Both of Majestic’s newest stores in Chippenham and Monmouth stock the retailer’s full award-winning range of more than 1,200 wines, plus beers, spirits, low and no alcohol alternatives, soft drinks and snacks.
Majestic’s experienced and qualified colleagues will host free wine tastings seven days a week from the in-store Tasting Counters, offering customers the opportunity to try a selection of wines before they buy, receive tasting notes and get expert advice.
Customers of both stores will be able to benefit from services including free glass hire for occasions such as weddings and birthday parties, free click-and-collect within as little as four hours, and next-day delivery, with the store’s own van delivering orders directly to customers’ homes. Majestic’s unique ‘No Quibble Guarantee’ also allows customers to return any wines they don’t like in exchange for a replacement bottle of equivalent value.
The Chippenham and Monmouth stores will also support Majestic’s rapidly growing B2B division, Majestic Commercial, supplying wines to dozens of pubs, bars and restaurants across Wiltshire and the south of Wales.
Majestic has now launched four new stores in 2023/24, following openings in Rugby, in August, in Newark, in September. It will open a smaller format in London’s Crouch End in November as part of ambitious plans to grow its store portfolio at a rate of one new store per month.
The accelerated expansion strategy comes after Majestic opened five new shops in 2022/23, in Haywards Heath, Godalming, Stafford, Preston and a smaller high-street format in Harpenden. All five stores are engaging with thousands of new shoppers and delivering to local hospitality venues through the Majestic Commercial division. Majestic Harpenden, which is less than half the size of the average Majestic store, was named as a finalist in the Game-Changing Store of the Year category at the Retail Gazette Awards 2023.
Majestic’s focus on bricks and mortar has been a key part of its growth strategy since its split from Naked Wines plc in December 2019. Since then, following the reintroduction of former management and with the backing of owners Fortress Investment Group, Majestic has opened 14 new stores and returned to growth and stability. Its on-trade arm, Majestic Commercial, has also celebrated a post-pandemic recovery, kicking off supply deals with more than 300 new bars, pubs, restaurants and competitive leisure venues during the first half of 2023/24 alone.
