Majestic has delivered its biggest-ever Christmas, as sales were bolstered by a record number of customers.

The UK wine retailer’s sales rose by 1.9% in the six weeks to 30 December, as more than 70,000 new customers flooded into its stores to buy wine for the festive period.

Overall growth was driven by standout categories including fortified wine, which recorded a 15% sales spike, while fine wine, champagne and sparkling wine sales climbed 4%, 4.7% and 5.3% respectively.

The retailer also championed the growth of categories from “off-the-beaten-track” regions, including sales of Greek wine and Georgian wine which soared 38% and 83% respectively, along Lebanese wine, sales of which trebled during the trading period. Majestic registered its biggest trading day at 23 December, beating last year’s previous record.

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Majestic chief executive John Colley said its performance was boosted by the opening of seven new brick-and-mortar stores during 2024, most recently its Christchurch, Wimborne Minster and Rickmansworth branch.

Colley said: “Majestic colleagues across all areas of our business pulled out all the stops to deliver another cracking Christmas for our customers. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in such a tough market, and I cannot thank our teams enough for their hard work and passion for what we do.

“It’s clear that, even when consumers’ budgets are tight, our market-leading product range, expert advice and differentiated service is a winning proposition – particularly at important times of year like Christmas.

“We are heading into what will be another challenging year for retail and hospitality businesses, with increases in the National Minimum Wage, Employer National Insurance Contributions and Alcohol Excise Duty all representing unhelpful headwinds.

“That said, we have plans in place to mitigate some of these and, with the strong backing of Fortress Investment Group, will continue to invest in growing our on-trade division and opening new Majestic stores.”