Majestic, the UK’s largest specialist wine retailer, has identified 125 locations for potential new store openings across England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands as it accelerates its investment into experiential bricks-and-mortar retail.
Majestic aims to open an average of one new store per month in the coming years in a bid to attract new customers, drive sales and win market share – and has drawn up a list of possible locations in all four corners of the country.
The retailer has identified almost 30 locations in Central London where it could open smaller format sites, following the success of its ‘mini Majestic’ concept in Harpenden, Crouch End and Marlow – all of which opened during its 2023/24 financial year. A further 14 areas inside the M25 have been earmarked as targets for expansion, alongside 13 locations in the Midlands, seven in the North of England and Scotland, and three in Wales.
Majestic is also considering opening its debut store in Guernsey, just two months after launching its first-ever Channel Islands store in Jersey. That opening took Majestic’s portfolio to 208 shops, meaning that 90% of the UK population now lives within 10 miles of a Majestic store. But the retailer is seeking to get even closer to its existing customers and win new shoppers by further expanding its bricks-and-mortar estate, with headroom to open around 50 new stores.
The business has placed a renewed focus on experiential retail and hospitality offerings since its split from Naked Wines plc and subsequent acquisition by Fortress Investment Group in December 2019. Since then, it has invested significantly in opening 17 new stores and refurbishing dozens more across the country. In April, it acquired Vagabond Wines out of administration, saving nine of its wine bars from closure and securing 171 jobs.
To help accelerate its ambitious opening plans, Majestic has appointed Jackson Criss as its fully retained property agent to advise on new store acquisitions and estate strategy. Jackson Criss has already been working with Majestic, having assisted on some of the retailer’s recent openings across the UK.
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Experiential, bricks-and-mortar retailing is at the heart of what we do at Majestic, and we are committed to opening up to one new store per month during the coming years to help us reach even more customers across the UK.
“In addition to the new stores already in our pipeline for this year, we have identified more than 100 locations across the UK and the Channel Islands that we believe would be a perfect fit for Majestic. We are excited to start serving even more communities around the country and helping thousands of new customers discover wines, beers and spirits they will love.”
Jackson Criss partner Dan Turner added: “It has been great working with Majestic on their recent acquisitions, and our team is excited to continue helping a best-in-class retailer grow their estate and invest further in bricks and mortar.”
