Sales in the seven week Christmas period from November 13 to December 31 were up by 5.1%, fuelled by 16 new store openings.

Like-for-like sales - which strips out the contribution of new stores - grew by 1.1%. The figure represents much slower growth that 4% like-for-like growth Majestic posted in the nine weeks to January 2 2012.

"While we saw encouraging sales growth over the period, the Christmas trading season was challenging with many consumers leaving their shopping until the very last moment. I would like to thank all those customers who chose to purchase the wine for their Christmas celebrations from Majestic," Lewis said.