Majestic pulls wines from shelves after tax raid makes them unprofitable
Majestic has axed wines from a string of small vineyards after a shake-up of alcohol tax rates made them unprofitable.
John Colley, chief executive at the wine retailer, said the retailer had pulled a number of wines from its shelves in the wake of new rules which came into effect in February.
He said: 'Typically you would range some of these wines for consumers because they love them. But it becomes much more a commercial decision with the changes being brought in. That's the sad thing.'
Under previous rules, wines between 11.5pc and 14.5pc ABV (alcohol by volume) attracted the same tax rate.
Under the new system, the tax due on them is calculated based on their individual strength, making some wines much more expensive and creating a mountain of extra paperwork for retailers.
Mr Colley said: 'If you've got something that just doesn't make sense because the volumes are so small and the cost of administration [has risen], there's an impact. You just can't make any money from doing it.
'We've spent hundreds of hundreds of thousands of pounds on systems just to manage it, it's that complex.'
It follows warnings from Mr Colley last year year that some of shoppers' favourite wines 'could increase in price, or at worst disappear from shelves altogether' because of the changes.
The shake-up of alcohol duties was the brainchild of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, but was pushed through by the current Labour Government despite fierce lobbying from industry.
Mr Colley insisted the changes would not be noticeable to most shoppers unless they were specifically seeking out wines that had been delisted.
He said: 'We still have over 1,300 in our offering. The added advantage that we have in Majestic is we've got trained and qualified experts, so if we haven't got a specific Amarone that they were after, we have got an alternative.'
Founded in 1980, Majestic runs 213 wine stores on British high streets.
The company has been expanding its presence across the country, and last week completed a deal to buy the drinks wholesaler Enotria & Coe, which suppliers restaurants and retailers with high-end wines. This followed its acquisition of bar group Vagabond Wines last year.
Mr Colley said the company planned to keep opening retail stores, but warned the barrage of tax increases levied on businesses this month meant 'we're having to be a little bit more picky about types of shops for opening', singling out the rise in employers' National Insurance contributions.
He said: 'It's not insignificant. We've had to cut our cloth accordingly within our retail business model. The sad thing is that the changes made affect workers.'
A government spokesman said: 'The alcohol duty reforms have modernised and simplified the duty system, prioritising public health and incentivising consumption of lower strength products.
'We continue to work closely with the wine sector to drive growth, support high-quality jobs and identify opportunities to export the UK's fantastic wines across the world.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Kneecap fans boo Rod Stewart as band target him with "older than Israel" jibe
Fans of the Belfast group jeered Rod's name as Kneecap were performing at Glastonbury. Rod Stewart got a frosty reception during Kneecap 's Glastonbury gig with boos ringing out after he was name checked by the rappers. Fans of the Belfast group jeered Rod's name as Kneecap were performing on the West Holt's stage. Asked if they were going to see Rod's tea time slot at Glastonbury tomorrow, the question was met by jeers, which may have been a reaction to Rod's announcement that he is a big fan of Nigel Farage and the Reform Party. The crowd also mocked Rod when one Kneecap member described him as 'Rod, the Prod' and 'older than Israel'. Celtic fan Rod, who is 80, and spends most of his time in the US, spoke out in favour of Starmer and Reform in an interview with The Times newspaper. He also moaned that Prime Minister, Keir Starmer was trying to reverse Brexit. Rod said: 'It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me,' Rod said. 'But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch. 'For instance, I've read about Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. 'That hasn't made him popular. We're fed up with the Tories. 'We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. 'What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him. 'Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.' Rod is likely to have a much friendlier response from his own fans when he returns on Sunday to play the festival he previously headlined in 2002. The British singer, songwriter and producer, who celebrated another number one album last year, will step out onto the Pyramid Stage for the first time in over 20 years on Sunday. With his trademark raspy, soulful voice and armed with a huge back catalogue of hits, there's no doubt he will have the crowd singing along and swinging their hips to songs like Maggie May, You Wear It Well and Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? as he promises to entertain the Glastonbury teatime revellers. Rod has said he is not happy with the "teatime slot" as it sounds like "pipe and slippers" though it should be anything but with former Faces bandmate and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood expected to join him onstage. But as the boos rang out at Glastonbury's Kneecap members laughed, asking, 'Have I missed something?' And adding, 'I mean the man's older than Israel. Rod, the Prod.' Though it may have been a joke, London-born Rod who lives in the US, is actually older than modern state of Israel which was founded on April 18, 1948. Rod was born on January 10, 1945.
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Daily Record
Kneecap lead foul-mouthed Kier Starmer chant before 'riot' speech at Glastonbury
'Just to clarify, I don't want anybody to start a riot" Kneecap have completed an expletive filled Glastonbury performance that included repeated chants of 'F*** Keir Starmer ' and 'free Palestine' throughout their set. The group have faced a barrage of criticism in recent weeks over their stance in support of Palestine and were unlikely to lay down to pressure as they took to the West Holt's stage for a charged performance despite multiple efforts to ban them. They opened with a montage of their critics, before moving on to Better Way To Live. But they didn't take long to lay into their critics including the Prime Minister who had said it was 'not appropriate' to allow Kneecap to play the festival. Mo Chara, along with bandmates Naoise Ó Caireallain (Móglaí Bap), and JJ Ó Dochartaigh (DJ Próvaí), made their feelings known early on, with Móglaí Bap telling the crowd: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, didn't want us to play. F*** you, Starmer.' The crowd chanted the insult throughout the set. They later added: 'Are there any English people here? We f***ing love the English people. It's the English government we don't like. We are not far away from a Celtic republic.' Festival bosses had earlier closed access to the stage amid crowd crush fears as people in their tens of thousands arrived to catch the controversial Irish language rap group. The rap trio took to the West Holts stage at 4pm on Saturday, just over a week after one of their members appeared in court on terror charges. At a show in O2 Forum Kentish Town last year, Mo Chara is alleged to have waved a Hezbollah flag. Today, to cheers and a sea of Palestinian flags, Mo Chara, wearing a keffiyeh, said: 'Glastonbury, I'm a free man.' After several songs, the frontman Móglaí Bap said: 'On August 20 Mo Chara is back in court for a trumped-up terrorism charge. Trust me it's not the first time that there has been a miscarriage of justice against an Irish person by the British justice system.' He added: 'So if anyone is available on August 20 to support Mo Chara, let's start a riot.' He later added: 'Just to clarify, I don't want anybody to start a riot.' During the set, the band said: 'I don't know if everybody here is following the Glastonbury app but we've had a notification that they've had to close the West Holt's stage because there's too many F**ian b*****s here.' The group also made reference to the BBC's decision not to livestream their performance, with O hAnnaidh, 27, telling fans: 'I don't want anybody to start a riot, just love and support and more importantly support for Palestine because that is what it is all about. 'This situation can cause stress for us but the stress we are feeling in minimal compared to the stress the people of Palestine are feeling. 'The Irish suffered 800 years of Colonialism at the hands of the British state, but the Irish, we were never f***ing bombed from the skies with nowhere to go.' The political theme continued from the band who told the crowd: 'This situation can be quite f***ing stressful for us indeed but the stress we're feeling is minimal compared to what the Palestinian people are going through every f***ing day. 'We're from West Belfast, a place still under British occupation and Derry… so we understand colonialism. 'We understand how important it is for solidarity internationally. 'The Irish suffered 800 years of colonialism at the hands of the British state but we were never bombed from the f***ing skies with nowhere to go. The Palestinians have nowhere to f***ing go, literally. 'Not only are they being bombed from the f***ing skies. They're now being starved to death… I don't have to lecture you people. We're all watching it… Israel are war criminals. It's a genocide.' Looking out at a sea of Palestinian flags, the band members laughed as they told the fans: 'The BBC editor is going to have some job. 'Sometimes you feel helpless. Sometimes you feel you're not doing enough and that's probably true sometimes but the difference it makes to people in policy when they see this many people from the other side of the world screaming, free Palestine.' There were more boos from the crowd when they were asked if anybody was "going to see Rod Stewart tomorrow". The 80-year old rocker has caused a stir after speaking out in support of Reform and saying that people should give Nigel Farage a chance. 'Have I missed something?' Kneecap asked. 'I mean the man's older than Israel. Rod, the Prod.' Kneecap's show culminated with the band leading chants of 'free Palestine' and 'f*** Keir Starmer' as they rammed home their point. 'No riots, just love and support and more importantly support for Palestine because that is what it's all about.' Last month, the Irish rap group was axed from the line up of Glasgow music festival TRNSMT amid safety fears. The trio are no longer set to play Glasgow Green on Friday, July 11 due to concerns over the safety of the event. Police Scotland had previously said the performance at Glasgow Green in July would require "a significant policing operation".
Metro
4 hours ago
- Metro
Popular discount store to close eight shops today - is yours going?
Eight branches of the Original Factory Shop will shut today after the discount chain announced efforts to restructure. The group announced the shuttering of 11 stores across the end of June and beginning of July, including branches in Dorset, Aberdeenshire and Cumbria. This is in addition to five further shops, which will be put up for sale. Residents reacted to the blow to their local high street, saying they would miss the discount store. One wrote: 'What a shame. So sorry for the staff.' 'Another blow for Middlewich… sad news. Staff always friendly and the store was good to shop in…', another commented. A third said: 'There is going to be nothing left in Middlewich everything is closing down.' The Original Factory Shop was purchased by Hobbycraft owner Modella in February. Modella also recently acquired WH Smith's High Street stores, which will be rebranded to TG Jones. The group announced its intention to place TOFS into a company voluntary arrangement or CVA – a scheme used to avoid insolvency and prevent the business from collapsing. As part of the process 'a number of loss-making stores will have to close,' the company said. The latest closures follow over a dozen shops already shuttered in the past year, the Sun reported. More Trending Over 13,000 shops closed their doors permanently last year, amid squeezes on business, including the increase to employers' National Insurance contributions. A total of 11 stores are now due to close over the coming weeks Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire – June 26 Arbroath, Angus – June 28 Chester Le Street, County Durham – June 28 Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire – June 28 Middlewich -June 28 Normanton, West Yorkshire – June 28 Pershore, Worcestershire – June 28 Perth – June 28 Peterhead, Aberdeenshire – June 28 Shaftesbury, Dorset – June 28 Staveley, Cumbria – July 12 The following five stores are set to be sold: Nairn Market Drayton Troon Blairgowrie Castle Douglas Other high street names including Iceland and Poundland have announced store closures, with hundreds of locations facing an uncertain future. Most recently, fashion giant River Island announced it had called in consultants to discuss how to keep stores open through tough trading conditions. The brand has had a high street presence for more than 75 years, having previously named Lewis and then Chelsea Girl before being renamed to its current iteration in 1988. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Look cute on the court this summer with H&M Move's new racket collection MORE: M&S is the official tailor of the England Football team and we're obsessed with the latest formalwear MORE: Full list of River Island shops set to close next year revealed
