Wine seems to be the beverage of choice for drinkers this year and it appears retailer Majestic Wine is taking full advantage of the trend, planning to hire 200 new staff members for what it hopes will be the busiest Christmas in its history.
Privately owned by Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE:FIG), the retailer experienced its second-strongest Christmas in its 40-year history in 2022 and is hoping last year's success can be beaten this time around.
Permanent and temporary roles for drivers, sales assistants, assistant managers, and trainee managers have all been made available, in what is the group’s biggest-ever recruitment drive.
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Christmas is always an exciting and busy time for Majestic, and this year we are looking for more new colleagues than ever to come and join us.
“Our new team members will not only help us to deliver our biggest Christmas ever but will play a key part in our ambitious growth plans for next year and beyond.”
Wine has consistently outperformed rival categories like beer, cider and spirits, and in the last week of August sales growth for the drink ranked best, jumping 6% ahead of 2022 figures, research from CGA found.
Performance hasn’t been as smooth for Naked Wines PLC (AIM:WINE, OTCQX:NWINF), Majestic’s former online division before it split off in 2019 and was listed as a separate PLC, which has lost half its value this year.
Appointing the company’s founder Rowan Gormley as chairman, the group is hoping a shift in leadership can help improve financials. The group was forced to lower 2024 forecasts due to poor demand.