Majestic reports record Christmas sales

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Majestic has reported record Christmas sales – but its performance lagged behind inflation.

The business posted a 1.9% increase in total sales in the six weeks to December 30, which includes the contribution made by the seven new stores it opened last year. The figure also takes into account the revenue generated by Majestic Commercial, its on-trade supply division.

Inflation is currently running at 2.9%, according to the Retail Price Index. Wine was also hit by a 2.7% duty increase in September.

Majestic CEO John Colley said he was “incredibly proud of what we have achieved in such a tough market”. And he warned that the industry was “heading into what will be another challenging year for retail and hospitality businesses, with increases in the national minimum wage, employer National Insurance contributions and alcohol excise duty all representing unhelpful headwinds”.

Majestic reported that fine wine sales rose 4% over the Christmas period, with Champagne and sparkling wines up 4.7% and 5.3% respectively.

Fortified, Greek, Georgian and Lebanese wines also performed strongly, the company said.

  • This article was amended on January 15 to incorporate the latest inflation rate. It originally stated 3.9%, which was correct when the article first appeared.

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