The Majestic outlet at Vinopolis is unlike any other in the chain and is a bizarre place, according to manageress Clare Ashdown. Last summer the wine warehouse operation signed up with the innovative consumer attraction sandwiched between The Globe Theatre and The Clink under the arches on London's revamped South Bank. It has been running the concession since Vinopolis opened last July and Ashdown said business has been better than expected. But it is unlike any of the other Majestic Warehouses she has run. To start with, sales are mostly by the bottle, whereas case sales are the norm in the rest of the chain. And there is very little pattern to the sales, she says. The store also has to be devoid of the usual clutter of boxes and pallets that tends to characterise Majestic. It has to look the part of smart visitor attraction. The store is strategically placed at the end of the Vinopolis tasting rooms so visitors progress from tasting to buying. A large proportion of the wines it sells are the tasting hall wines. Majestic has not neglected its traditional customers and has a separate access to the street so cases can be loaded into cars. And it offers free delivery in mainland UK. Ashdown says: "Most of our customers are one-offs so it is difficult to build up a relationship, although we are developing a core of consumers from the local area." The key price band is £5-£7, although the cheap and cheerful French red blends do well. Most customers go straight past the £1.99 lambrusco. At the top end sales of single bottles of wine at £50-£60 are commonplace and a mixed six pack at around £300 is also a regular sale. One of the surprising hits is a 1989 German Riesling, the Serriger Vogelsang Auslese, which the team finds difficult to keep on the shelves because of its rate of sale. {{FEATURES }}

Topics