Majestic sales lift alcohol drift

Wine warehouse chain Majestic’s New World wines have lifted sales, despite the state of the alcohol retail sector which has 4.7% of companies in liquidation. Majestic has reported a 10% rise in pre-tax profits to £14.5 million and a 6% increase in turnover to £172.2 million.
Matthew Debbage, head of product and marketing at ICC Credit, a UK credit reference agency, said,“There have been a number of recent high profile casualties within this sector, such as Unwins, and a number of smaller failures, such as Waterbird. Also, he says, the latest Oddbins accounts show a marginal profit of £268,000 while the accounts from Wine Cellar show a loss of £2.3m.
“Spend on drinks accounts for around 7% of all consumer spending, says Debbage.“In spite of this, the retail drinks market is fiercely competitive and the high street off-licence has to battle it out with the large, and often cheaper, supermarkets.