Majestic Wine has reported its best-ever Christmas as it served a record number of shoppers over the key festive period.

The wine specialist saw sales rise 1.9% over the six weeks to 30 December, beating its previous record for festive sales set in 2023.

It said its performance was boosted by the launch of seven new stores last year and the rise of its growing specialist on-trade supply arm, Majestic Commercial.

The retailer’s stores served more than 70,000 new customers for the first time during the period, as it pulled in its largest ever market share.

Additionally, its on-trade teams supplied almost 800 new gastropubs, bars, restaurants and hospitality venues compared to last Christmas.

Majestic, which unveiled a £1m investment into its store estate in July last year, saw its biggest trading day in its history on 23 December, as last-minute shoppers purchased wines for Christmas, and also witnessed its busiest-ever Christmas Eve.

Fine wine sales were up 4% over the period, while champagne and sparkling also rose 4.7% and 5.3% respectively, and fortified wines were up 15%.

Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Majestic colleagues across all areas of our business pulled out all the stops to deliver another cracking Christmas for our customers.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in such a tough market, and I cannot thank our teams enough for their hard work and passion for what we do.

“It’s clear that, even when consumers’ budgets are tight, our market-leading product range, expert advice and differentiated service is a winning proposition – particularly at important times of year like Christmas.”

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