Majestic seeing English wines come to fore

English sparkling wines received a surge in popularity as a result of national pride surrounding celebrations such as the Royal Wedding, the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.
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One of Majestic’s leading English tipples, Chapel Down from Kent, was served up to guests at the Royal Wedding in 2011. Since then home-grown wines such as the retailer’s best English seller Nyetimber Classic Cuvee, which costs just under £30, have been coming to the fore.

Mr Lewis said the success was not just down to national pride, however, as English sparkling wines can now rival its international competitors on taste too. But despite this rapid success, Majestic expects England’s share of the global wine market will remain relatively small and niche, with Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand currently generating most, or 11 per cent, of its total sales.

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Mr Lewis also shrugged off suggestions that bad weather could put another dampener on outdoor parties this year.

After many events across the UK were cancelled due to last year’s poor weather, he said there was a “pent up need for barbecues”, which should boost Majestic’s sales this summer. “We only need a bit of sun,” he said.

Majestic reduced its minimum order for delivery to six bottles from 12 in June 2012, to “broaden the appeal of our online offering”.

It said the move had resulted in a 25 per cent increase in online transactions, to 234,000, offsetting a 7 per cent fall in the average value of an order, to £134. Pre-tax profit rose by 2.1 per cent, to £23.7m, while total sales fell by 2.1 per cent to £274.4m. Majestic said the fall in sales reflected its decision to scale back exposure to the wholesale drinks market. Underlying sales, excluding wholesale activities, were up 2.6 per cent, it said.

Customer numbers increased by 56,000, to 624,000, and sales of fine wine priced at £20 and above rose 9.4 per cent despite the weak economic backdrop.

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