Majestic strengthens property team with two newly created roles
Wine retailer Majestic has strengthened its property team with two key appointments as part of plans to accelerate its store opening programme.
In a first appointment, Stuart Williams will rejoin the business in the newly created role of director of estates and acquisitions where he will have overall responsibility for finding new Majestic stores and managing existing lease agreements. Currently head of estates at Travelodge, he will join the business in January.
Prior to Travelodge, Williams spent more than 20 years at Majestic, including 10 years as property director. After leaving in 2016, he has also held senior property roles at Sofa.com, The White Company and Game.
Meanwhile, Andy Latham, Majestic’s director of property, will move to the new position of director of format development and new store operations, also from January. His new position will include responsibility for planning, fitting out, and setting up Majestic’s new stores ahead of opening, and managing the retailer’s re-investment in refurbishing its existing estate.
Latham joined Majestic in May 2021 after previously holding senior property roles with Woolworths, Boots and Kingfisher.
Majestic is planning to open up to one new store per month over the next few years as it looks to drive growth in its retail and commercial businesses.
Majestic chief executive John Colley said: “I am delighted that Stuart has agreed to rejoin Majestic, overseeing our store acquisition strategy. He brings with him a huge amount of retail and property experience, as well as an intrinsic understanding of the Majestic business, our customers, our culture, and what we look for in a new store.
“Stuart’s appointment will allow Andy and his team to place an increased focus on format development, driving our bricks-and-mortar innovation and ensuring that our new stores get up to speed as quickly as possible before being fully handed over to store colleagues and regional retail teams.
“Both Stuart and Andy will play crucial roles in the evolution of Majestic’s store portfolio and their appointments reaffirm Majestic’s ongoing commitment to physical, experiential retail.”
