// Naked Wines sales up 11% over Christmas trading period ending December 31
// Nick Devlin has officially replaced Rowan Gormley as the new CEO
// Gormley first announced his resignation in November
Naked Wines has posted sales growth over the peak Christmas trading period, while confirming that today would be chief executive Rowan Gormley’s last day in office.
The online alcohol retailer said its performance during the 10 week period ending December 31 was in the expected range, with an 11 per cent rise in underlying revenue for its continuing businesses.
This underlying figure excludes Majestic Wine, Lay & Wheeler, and Les Celliers de Calais, which were all sold in 2019.
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Naked Wines’ £95 million sale of Majestic Wine and Les Celliers de Calaisin in August subsequently saw Naked Wines become an entirely online business once the deal was completed in December.
Lay & Wheeler was offloaded for £11.3 million in October.
Meanwhile, thanks to an increased proportion of repeat customer sales, Naked Wines said its total gross margin was one percentage point higher year-on-year.
The retailer used its Christmas trading update to confirm that Nick Devlin has replaced Rowan Gormley as the new chief executive, after the latter first announced his retirement back in November.
“The team have worked hard over the Christmas period and delivered a good performance,” Devlin said.
“With the important Christmas season behind us, we are now acutely focused on executing our plans and achieving our huge growth potential.
“Rowan leaves the business in great shape. We have the internal capability, clarity of purpose and financial resources to push ahead with our growth plans and deliver value for customers and shareholders alike.”
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