Majestic Wine thanked strong demand for both Old and New World wines today as it toasted a surge in half-year profits and sales.
The wine warehouse chain saw total sales jump 27.9% to £56.8m in the 26 weeks to September, or 10.7% on an underlying basis.
Demand grew across the board, with wines from Australia, South Africa, Chile, Italy and the French regions all increasing their share of sales.
Champagne and sparkling wine also performed well.
Customers also splashed out on large amounts of wine – the average purchased bottle price was £5.32 but spend per transaction at the stores averaged £103.
The group has also continued to expand and three new stores were opened in the period, in Dorchester, Bromley and Leicester, while the number of active customers on Majestic’s mailing list rose 9.3% to 281,000.
In addition, French chain The Wine and Beer Company – which Majestic bought last year – has now been fully integrated into the group and rebranded as Wine and Beer World.
And overall that meant pretax profits were able to surge ahead, from £1.6m to £2.6m.
Chief executive Tim How said: “Within the expanding wine market our strong growth has been achieved by the differentiation of our business from the competition.
“We are most encouraged by the number of new customers and are confident of future growth.”
This month also saw Majestic open its 103rd store, in a former salmon processing unit in Camberley, and the group said it was in advanced stages of negotiations to open several more outlets.
However, a key part of Majestic’s festive sales will be its French operation.
It has four wine warehouses – two in Calais, one in Cherbourg and another in Le Havre – giving it access to UK shoppers who cross the Channel to stock up on wine.
The largest site is near the Calais ferry terminal, which Majestic expanded in October to 12,000 sq ft (1,115 sq m) of retail space.
Chairman John Apthorp said: “We have been pleased with the sales growth in France this year and the initial customer response to the new Wine and Beer World proposition.
“We are well prepared for the important Christmas period.”
Majestic, which opened its first warehouse in 1981, will pay shareholders an interim dividend of 3p per share, up on last year’s 2.5p payout.
EGi News 18/11/02
