Majestic no more
Brand that led wine boom is re-named Naked in overhaul
IT was at the forefront of the middle classes’ newfound passion for wine in the Eighties, its knowledgeable staff selling fine vintages by the case.
But Majestic Wine will soon be a brand of the past, falling victim, like so many other high street names, to the rise of online shopping.
From June the 39-year-old company will be called naked Wines, the name of the internet business it bought for £70million in 2015.
naked founder Rowan Gormley, 56, who was installed as chief executive of Majestic, is launching a major overhaul of the group amid stiff competition from online rivals and supermarkets including discounters aldi and Lidl.
a number of Majestic’s 200 stores, many of which are warehouses, will close and some staff will lose their jobs, although the firm did not specify how many.
South african-born Mr Gormley, who is married with three children, From this: Walk-in shops denied the company was in crisis. But he said: ‘It’s become very clear that online sales are going to take away from offline sales. Consumer behaviour is changing and we’re seeing a revolution in retail.’
nearly 45 per cent of the group’s sales are now online.
Mr Gormley said that while ‘discount supermarkets have attracted the customers who value price over everything else’ there was still demand for high-quality wine at reasonable prices such as those offered by naked.
‘This may look like a drastic step, but in surgery it’s much better to operate on a healthy patient than an unhealthy patient,’ he added.
‘We’re doing it now because today we have options – most retailers are doing it as a last gasp.’
He said he was considering selling all parts of the group except for the naked Wines arm. The business includes a commercial Majestic operation that sells drinks to bars and the specialist fine wine merchant Lay and Wheeler.
Majestic began life as Majestic Vinters in 1980 when its first store in north London was founded by former John Lewis merchandiser Sheldon Graner ‘Tony’ Mason.
It changed hands a number of times before merging with rival Wizard Wines in 1991 and becoming Majestic Wine. It listed on the London Stock Exchange’s junior market, the alternative Investment Market, in 1996 and launched its first online service in 2000.
Majestic, which usually sells wine by the case, is known for its staff members’ knowledge, with every employee accredited by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.
Mr Gormley said money from selling off parts of the company and closing stores would be ploughed into naked.
He added there were plans to develop some form of ‘face-to-face sales’, perhaps in the form of popup shops on the high street or at rock festivals.
‘Retail is definitely not what it was about 20 years ago,’ he said.
Mr Gormley added the firm would try to move as many staff as possible from Majestic to naked.