Prudence over patriotism… have retailers bet against coronation enthusiasm?

With the King’s coronation on Saturday, the Guardian has provided a round up of the more unusual coronation memorabilia on offer, including “tomato kingchup” and a life-size cut out of the King.

However, walking around my local city centre last weekend, there was a distinct lack of any coronation items on sale. No tableware, no kids’ crafts, no flags etc. I spoke to staff in a number of shops and they confirmed that whilst they have had some items on sale, it is now all sold out. 

Whilst I appreciate that I have left my preparations a little late (and whilst better for the environment to reduce waste and unnecessary consumption), it feels that retailers have limited their stock in order to reduce the risk of having surplus left after the event that they can only sell at clearance prices. This is a sign that, although we have so far avoided a recession, business confidence (particularly in the retail sector) is still fairly low. 

On the other hand, we are still seeing lots of retailers taking on and expanding physical stores. An example is HMV preparing to re-open their Oxford Street flagship store later this year. So, while retailers appear to be being careful for now, there does still seem to be optimism for the near future.

some businesses and their PR teams seem to be doing anything possible to mark the day

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/01/king-charles-chocolate-bust-and-tomato-kingchup-the-quirkier-coronation-merchandise
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