Majestic Wine boss Steve Lewis has stepped down after six years in the job.
The group, Britain’s biggest specialist wine retailer, suffered a sharp slowdown in sales growth over Christmas when fierce competition from supermarkets forced it to slash prices. Tesco sold champagne for as little as £8 a bottle. Majestic’s shares slumped as City analysts cut their profit forecasts.
Lewis worked for the wine retailer, which has about 200 shops, for 29 years, including 16 years on the board. He rose through the ranks from graduate trainee manager in Clapham, south London, to chief executive.
“The business is entering a busy and exciting next phase and now is the right time to hand over to a new leader, ” he said.
Nigel Alldritt, the finance director, will step in in until a permanent replacement is found. Alldritt has been on the board for 13 years in various roles including finance, IT and logistics. Phil Wrigley, Majestic’s chairman, will attend monthly operating board meetings on an interim basis.
Wrigley paid tribute to Lewis, saying he took the helm in 2008 in the midst of the credit crunch and subsequent recession and “successfully steered the business through very difficult times. He leaves the business today in good shape, with sales up 41% and profit up 42% during his time as chief executive, and with the business well positioned for the next phase of its development.”
News of Lewis’s departure comes a day after John Browett stepped down as chief executive of Monsoon, the fashion chain he joined two years ago.
