Skip to main content

Royal baby to give almost $400 million bump to British economy

By Belinda Goldsmith
LONDON (Reuters) - From Union Jack booties to "Born to Rule" sleepwear, the British royal family has joined retailers in offering baby products to mark the arrival of the royal heir.
Analysts estimate the baby fever could boost the economy by 240 million pounds ($380 million).
A baby sleepsuit modeled on a guardsman's outfit is one of the gifts on sale at palace shops by the Royal Collection Trust, which uses all profits for the upkeep of the royal palaces.
Prince Charles, the grandfather-to-be, is selling handmade baby shoes through a shop on his country estate Highgrove, while the mother-to-be's parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, have added a range of baby goods to their party goods business.
Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research (CRR), estimated that the arrival of the baby, due in July, could add more than 240 million pounds to the British economy.
"This is a good news story and there really is no downside. With the birth coming in July, people will have time to get involved, and that means additional spending," Bamfield told Reuters after the release of the CRR's report on Monday.
"There has been a lot of interest across the Atlantic as well, as the younger royals are very well thought of in the United States, so we are expecting good sales of souvenirs."
The birth of the royal baby, who will be third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, is the latest in a run of royal and sporting events.
Prince William married Kate Middleton in April 2011 and Queen Elizabeth marked her Diamond Jubilee in June last year. The London Olympics last summer added to the buzz.
Richard Cope, trends director at market researcher Mintel, expected the duke and duchess's baby to have a positive impact on consumer spending, which only ticked up 0.1 percent between January-March this year.
"I think the biggest commercial opportunity is going to be with tourists," Cope told Reuters, pointing to a 13 percent rise in tourists arrivals in April.
Bamfield forecast 4.8 million people would splash out 62 million pounds on alcohol to wet the future monarch's head and spend 25 million pounds on food for baby parties.
He expected 156 million pounds to be spent on commemorative china and other collectables, toys, books, DVDs and media.
Bamfield said another knock-on effect of the birth would be sales of baby products as other new parents copied the duchess.
The "Kate-effect" is already well known as sales of anything the duchess wears or uses soars. A Dalmatian coat she wore last week to launch a new cruise ship sold out within an hour.
"One of the biggest factors will be the unintentional royal brand endorsement," said Bamfield.
"The ‘Kate effect' has already taken the fashion world by storm...and this trend will follow for the infant's baby grows, rattles, first bike and so on."

Popular posts from this blog

CNN Poll: Judging the Supreme Court

- As the Supreme Court gets ready to issue opinions on some high profile and contentious cases, a new national poll indicates Americans are split on whether the high court is doing a good job. According to a CNN/ORC International survey released Thursday morning, 48% of the public say they approve of the job the Supreme Court's doing, with an equal amount saying they disapprove. There is, however, an ideological divide. Fifty-three percent of liberals and 58% of moderates, but only 37% of conservatives, say that they approve of the court. "That's probably a reaction to last year's decision on Barack Obama's health care law," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. In a closely watched ruling, the court upheld the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, last June. "Before that ruling, most conservatives supported the Supreme Court, compared to only 44% of liberals. Now, most liberals approve of the court, with most co...
Read more

Who are the Niger Delta Avengers?

(Franks.) With a name that sounds like it has come from the pages of a superhero comic book, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) is the latest militant group to emerge in Nigeria – attacking oil installations in a campaign which threatens the economy of Africa’s most populous state. “We are a group of educated and well-travelled individuals that are poised to take the Niger Delta struggle to new heights that has never been seen in this nation before,” the NDA proclaimed in one of their first statement’s on their website in April. “We have well-equipped human resources to meet this goal.” It was not an idle threat. The NDA has carried out a barrage of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta region, causing a huge decline in oil production, which is the mainstay of the West African state’s economy. “The renewed activities of the militants in the Niger Delta are seriously affecting our oil production,” Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun admitted on state-owned NTA tele...
Read more

About 250 secondary school students in FGC Ekiti have been strangely hospitalized.

About 250 students of the Federal Government Girls’ College in Efon Alaaye, Ekiti State, have been infected with an outbreak of a disease suspected to be cholera.  Although some of the students affected were treated and discharged, a good number were still undergoing treatment in the hospital.  There were reports that parents had started rushing to retrieve their wards from the school as news of the epidemic became widespread on Thursday.  PREMIUM TIMES learnt that signs were noticed on October 10, when some students showed symptoms of the infection.  Although the school principal, Grace Ogunyomi, reported the matter to the state government, no immediate action beyond the routine medical attention was provided.  It was gathered that the students were infected in small numbers, but the matter escalated on Wednesday, resulting in government action, after the principal, Mrs. Ogunyomi, made a formal report.  Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, imm...
Read more