Majestic Wine opens new store (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Majestic Wine opens new store

11:40am Thursday 13th September 2012 in Hampshire Business By Richard Garfield

A NEW business will be hoping to turn into a vintage success in the heart of Basingstoke.

Majestic Wine has opened its 185th store in New Street, on a former car showroom site.

The bright and airy purpose-built store offers wine from all over the world and is run by manager Aaron Turner, who is bubbling with enthusiasm.

And no wonder as he works for a retailer that seems to be bucking the economic downturn. Majestic reported a 14 per cent rise in annual profits in June as it continues to enjoy increased sales, with total revenues jumping to £280.3million.

The company has ambitious plans to eventually open 300 outlets, having opened 16 new stores last year. And while previously Majestic shoppers were required to purchase a minimum of 12 bottles of wine, in recent years this was halved to six. This policy was extended to online sales this year.

Clearly delighted with Majestic’s latest store and its location, Aaron said: “It’s absolutely fantastic – we’re just off the centre of town. We’ve got our own car park so people can easily drive to us or even walk here. And if they don’t want to carry their wine, we can deliver it out to them.”

With stores in Winchester, Newbury, Reading, Farnham and Fleet, Aaron said it made sense to open up in Basingstoke.

“A lot of our customers are already based here in Basingstoke. They wanted us to be closer to home, because a lot of them order online or over the phone and get deliveries, whereas it’s nicer to be able to come into the shop and try wine on the tasting counter.

“We’ve always got wine open every day of the week, so there is always something different for people to come and try. And we are more than just a shop,” explained Aaron, who is keen to promote the store’s other services, events and its regular wine course.

Like his colleagues, Aaron is well qualified to offer advice on wines, being armed with industry-respected Wine and Spirit Education Trust qualifications.

To celebrate its opening, the store will be running an Opening Tasting Weekend starting tomorrow until Sunday.