Majestic is going Naked, but at what cost to shareholders?
Majestic Wine – one of AIM’s oldest constituents and a prime pick for many Inheritance Tax planning portfolios – is endeavouring to sell its legacy Majestic business to focus on the newer, faster growing, Naked Wines. It’s a risky move which looks questionable to us.
The evolution of Majestic to Naked looked destined ever since the Naked team, led by chief executive Rowan Gormley, assumed management control of AIM-listed Majestic Wine (LON:WINE) in April 2015. Naked’s digital operation is clearly the flavour of current times, compared to the rather staid, UK-focused, warehouse style concept of Majestic. Naked’s customers, referred to as ‘Angels’, pay a monthly direct debit, to gain access to a select offering of wine from smaller winemakers. The Naked website is full of lots of pictures of passionate happy winemakers and equally passionate Angels. However, in its 10-year history Naked is only marginally profitable, in…