In today's tough retail environment, it is great to see some good news from the high street. Majestic Wines have posted impressive figures, with profits up to £20.3m for the year ending March 28th. Underlying sales were up by 5.3 per cent, bucking the current trend with many other leading retailers. So how have Majestic Wines produced such amazing results? Clearly the lack of competition helps, with the demise of Unwins, Threshers and Oddbins, there is definately a place for a quality wine supermarket. In September 2009, Majestic made what was a business changing decision to reduce the minimum purchase from 12 bottles to 6. Prior to this Majestic was being used by serious wine buffs and for big occasions, such as Christmas and birthday parties. The change in strategy was dramatic and has seen customer numbers increase by over 8%. The average spend is down however but with more people using the stores, the previously big spend periods will now be even greater. We at Sportsballshop have been trying to think how we can apply this strategy, to our own market. We already offer the option to purchase cricket balls and Gilbert rugby balls, in bulk buys of 10, 20 or 30 but, we also sell them individually. Unlike the wine purchases, the more balls you buy the cheaper they become so, it looks like we need to study majestic Wines strategy further. Customers are now less likely to spend money on evenings out and are now demanding to have quality wines at affordable prices. A bottle of house red can now cost more than £14 in a restaurant, the same bottle can be purchased for as little as £5 on the high street. Tesco's are dominate in nearly all retail sectors but, what they are lacking is experts on the shop floor. They employ shelf fillers, whereas Majestic Wines employ trained experts that can recommend a decent wine that will compliment your chosen meal. So maybe there are a few things that are helping them increase their profits, expertise, price, availability and choice. Well done Majestic.
