Majestic puts in a sparkling performance

Majestic Wine revealed a sharp jump in Christmas sales yesterday after it reduced the minimum purchase in its stores to six bottles.

The business, which has 150 stores in the UK, said like-for-like sales were up 11.7 per cent in the nine weeks from November 3, helped by a substantial increase in the number of customers trying Majestic for the first time.

The festive performance compared with UK sales growth of 5.4 per cent in the first half of its financial year, when profits increased 9 per cent to 6.1m.

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Chief executive Steve Lewis said: "We are delighted with the growth in sales over the Christmas period. We are encouraged by our customers' response to the reduction in our minimum purchase to six bottles."

In September, Majestic lowered the limit from 12 bottles in an attempt to broaden its customer base – particularly in towns and cities, where people are more likely to walk to its stores instead of driving.

The 12-bottle minimum still applies to online orders.

Majestic reported strong sales across its selection of fine wines and champagnes, as well as for sparkling wines such as Prosecco.

Investec Securities analyst Natalia Marisova said Majestic's performance was a "resounding endorsement" of its new minimum purchase policy.

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She added: "Not only appealing to existing customers, it has been successful in attracting new customers and driving transaction volumes."

She has raised Investec's pre-tax profit forecast for the year to March 31 by 1m to 15m and by a similar amount for 2011.