A right royal gift opportunity?

The gift industry has begun to calculate the revenue boost a Royal wedding can have following the announcement of Prince William and long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton’s official engagement.

Already, production lines are whirring away and designs that have been on the drawing board ever since the pair got together at college over five years ago have been given the green light.

Only one thing remains at the time of writing: The date and venue of the big day, which many manufacturers are desperately keen to know so they finish off their commemorative designs.

It seems many manufacturers have anticipated the announcement, preparing ranges to mark both the engagement of the royal couple and also mark the wedding next year once further details are announced.

GT understands that as with many other similar royal announcements in the past, no agreement has been made between the Royal Family and a specific manufacturer on making an‘official’ range of commemorative products. Instead, the Palace relaxes its rules on using the names and images of the Royal Family for a fixed time, enabling an almost ‘free for all’ for companies to produce their goods. However, each manufacturer has to make its own judgement on what would be considered suitable.
But will a royal wedding really be a shot in the arm for gift retailers? At the moment the jury is out, particularly with the news that the likes of Asda has already pushed the button on a commemorative mug, launching it for sale on the store’s website a mere 24 hours after the announcement was made.

“Royal Crockery is a good British tradition and this will be the biggest announcement from the royal family since the engagement of Charles and Di” said David Mills, Asda’s category director.

One independent giftware retailer, GT spoke to was less than enthusiastic saying: “Too many people jump on the bandwagon and there’s no official licensing as such so there’s just too much stuff being produced. They’ll put their faces on anything and the Royals have lost a bit of their exclusivity in the modern age, which is a shame.”

Quality merchandise

But Alan Morgenroth, of Goviers, Sidmouth, a specialist retailer of fine crystal and china takes a different view having specialised in commemorative pieces and collector’s items. He has worked closely with major brands, including Royal Crown Derby on its commemorative items, securing exclusivity deals on some of these wedding items and many other commemorative ranges for his store.

He told GT:“The success or failure of a good commemorative item lies in the quality of the item itself. The ‘commemorative' aspect doesn’t just sell itself – the product has to be good. Commemorative markets are niche events in the main, but occasions such as royal weddings bring  them to the mass market. The media frenzy started on Tuesday and will just run and run. Expect street parties and national celebrations, not just in the UK but internationally too.

“Commemorative occasions are a great excuse to great good collectables, and good commemorative pieces. However the key word is ‘good’. The wedding of 1981, the Silver Jubilee in 1977, Golden Jubilee in 2002 have all been great opportunities to sell this type of item. I am sure this royal wedding will follow suit.”

Manufacturers however continue to make their plans for avast array of merchandise – either to commemorate the engagement or celebrate the wedding.

Aynsley China has already commissioned a four piece set which was understood to be in production as of the day of the announcement. The company had designs on hold, waiting before the official announcement before putting the designs into action.

Paul Hulme, Head of Design at Aynsley China told GT: “Planning a range on an expected announcement was a risk, but its great to be ready to react to the news and start producing. We’ve had great interest already in what we’re doing from the media and flyers will be going out soon on our offering.

Paul adds: “We choose to keep in touch with the Palace and let them know what we are doing out of courtesy, but you have to judge it for yourself and ensure your designs are apt.”

The company say retailers can already get in touch to place orders, with stock expected to reach stores well before Christmas.

In terms of glassware, Dartington Crystal is also set to produce ranges of limited edition paperweights and champagne flutes to celebrate the occasion also.

Royal rewards

Royal Crown Derby has received much attention for its ‘William and Kate’ swans, which actually arrived on the market in July last year in anticipation of the big announcement. At £590 for the pair, the swans are a prime example of great quality ceramics being put to good commemorative use and held in great value.

Along with the swans, the porcelain manufacturer is set to produce a range which includes a Loving Cup, Welsh Dragon, hand-painted Peacock, Octagonal Plate and Coronet, available in varying limited editions. There is also a Wedding Bear Couple planned which are currently not yet available. Each piece is decorated with William and Kate coat of arms and an inscription. All items are created in Derby from start to finish and then hand finished and decorated with 22ct Gold.

Certainly through scrolling through the comments and posts of readers on certain news websites running with the story, it is interesting to note that the quality and origin of the items is of concern. Will the‘Made in England’ aspect to these gifts be of importance to the UK and international buying public?

One user on the Sky News website said: ”We still have the mugs and plates from ‘Phillip & Lizzie’s ’marriage and crowning – you won’t see them go on TV’s ‘Flog it!’ or ‘The Real Deal’ either. We wouldn’t part with them for all the tea in China(which is probably where the new ones will be coming from)- I hope they last as long.”

Others have taken a more cynical approach. Take a tweet from ‘#royalweddings – “I remember the last royal wedding – hence I’m preparing for a tidal wave of commemorative crockery and shiny knock-off tat.”

Lets hope consumers go for quality over quantity both in the UK and internationally and go for the credible rather than the cheap.

We’ll be following this story in future issues – if you’re a manufacturer let us know if you’ll be jumping on the wedding train, and retailers – are you looking to stock these items in stores?

Contact: phughes@lemapublishing.co.uk to let us know your thoughts

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