Gormley plans to put fizz back into Majestic
MAJESTIC’S new chief executive said it would take further investment and a shake-up of the business before the wine specialist can toast to growth again, after reporting a sharp decline in full-year profits.
Rowan Gormley took over as chief executive after his firm Naked Wines was snapped up by Majestic earlier this year in a £70m deal.
He said Majestic’s drop in pre-tax profits – down 12 per cent to £20.9m in the year to the end of March – was due to a “number of reasons” voiced by customers, including its “intimidating” price structure, which requires shoppers to buy at least six bottles.
Gormley added that its offers were not personalised enough to its customers’ needs: “They are disappointed that, despite being customers for 25 years we don’t know who they are or what they buy.”
It now plans to spend £3m in the first half of the year sprucing up stores and improving its supply chain and IT systems, which Gormley said were “physically unequipped to support a chain of shops and a multi-channel environment”.
He added: “It will take a bit of time and it will take a bit of money, but I wouldn’t be paid in Majestic shares if I didn’t believe we could return it to sustainable sales growth and in turn sustainable profit growth.”
The outcome of his strategic review will be published alongside its interim results in November. Shares closed down 4.2 per cent to 421p.