Wine warehouse chain Majestic Wine is on the acquisition trail in a drive to add a further 55 stores to its portfolio. Chief executive Tim How said the chain plans to increase its portfolio from 95 to 150 outlets nationwide as sites become available. How said the expansion comes as trade at Majestic Wine's online shop at majestic.co.uk takes off. How said: "The web site already accounts for around 2% of sales. Customers are spending an average £120 each time they go online, well above the average £100 spent at conventional stores." He added: "Part of the reason for the high spend is that people have to buy a minimum of 12 bottles though they can get mixed cases." The group is looking at out of town sites across the whole of the UK. The new stores will be used to service online orders and customer collections. Majestic Wine opened a new retail warehouse at Filton, Bristol this month. Three further openings are planned for August in Birkdale, Newcastle and Edinburgh. {{NEWS }}

Topics