Majestic Wine set for expansion - graduate jobs

Graduate employment in the wine retail industry is likely to increase over the coming decade after Majestic Wine announced ambitious expansion plans.

The company is looking to increase the number of stores it has in the UK over the next 10 years from 165 to a minimum of 330 after a bigger-than-expected jump in annual profits.

Increased demand for Argentinian and New Zealand wines have helped Majestic boost its like-for-like sales growth by 5.3% in the last financial year. Italian sparkling wine Prosecco has also been a top performer, while sales of fine wines, priced £20 per bottle and above, were up 23.7%.

The company made profits of £20.3 million in the year to March 28, up 26% from £16 million the previous year, with total sales up 10.3% at £257.3 million.

David Jeary, an analyst at broker Investec, said Majestic's forecast-beating results were down to the "positive reaction" of customers to the reduction in the minimum purchase quantity from 12 to six bottles.

Chief executive Steve Lewis said the company had seen "quite a change" in its customer demographic since the minimum purchase quota was cut.

Copyright Press Association 2011