Majestic Store Chippenham

Majestic has returned to Chippenham after a four-year absence

Specialist wine retailer Majestic has completed two openings in a week for the first time in 10 years.

The retailer returned to Chippenham on 24 October, opening a new 4,775 sq ft store four years after its site in the town was closed down by previous management.

It followed this up with the opening of its largest store in Wales on 26 October. The 6,275 sq ft site in Monmouth is second only to Majestic’s flagship in St John’s Wood, London, in terms of footprint.

Majestic said it was accelerating openings “as a central pillar of its growth strategy”.

The openings marked “a stark contrast in fortunes” to four years ago when – while still part of Naked Wines – “Majestic’s stores were being closed and the brand was in danger of disappearing from the high street altogether”, the company added.

The last time it opened two stores in the space of a week was in November 2013, when it opened for business in Cheadle and Tenterden.

“Opening two stores in a week for the first time in 10 years underlines our ongoing commitment to physical, experiential retail, and offers a clear sign of how far we have progressed as a business under the ownership of Fortress,” said Majestic CEO John Colley.

“We always talk about our store colleagues as our secret sauce at Majestic – and opening more stores that provide more customers across the UK with access to our highly qualified experts and unique, quality wines is a strategy that is working,” he added.

Both of the new stores will stock the retailer’s full range of over 1,200 wines, as well as beers, spirits, low & no alcohol alternatives, soft drinks and snacks.

They will also offer free tastings seven days a week, as well as free glass hire, click & collect and next-day delivery services.

The openings are Majestic’s fourth of the year, following openings in Rugby in August, and Newark in September.

It will also open a smaller format in London’s Crouch End in November as part of plans to grow its store portfolio at a rate of one new store per month.