Retailers eye £240m opportunity as royal baby boy arrives

Retailers including Mothercare, Morrisons, John Lewis and Kiddicare have all introduced special products to celebrate the birth of Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s first child.

Mothercare has introduced blue babygrows with ‘Prince in training’ written on them while baby specialist Kiddicare is selling a throne-like prince car seat.

John Lewis is selling a ‘Milly Green’ Royal Baby Collection tableware set while Marks & Spencer is retailing a special biscuit tin. The UK’s largest retailer Tesco last night tweeted its congratulations to William and Kate.

The royal baby, who was born yesterday at 4.24pm and is as yet unnamed, could inspire a £243m boost to the high street in the next two months, the Centre for Retail Research claimed.

It expects £87m to be spent on festivities, £80m on souvenirs and £76m on books, DVDs and media, the Telegraph reported.

However, Mothercare chief executive Simon Calver said last week he does not expect a significant uptick in sales as a result of the royal baby.

Morrisons said in a special mailout out to shoppers that its Nutmeg children’s clothing offer would be inspired by the royal birth.

It said: “The future heir to the throne will raise the baby style stakes this summer and put kids clothes at the forefront of fashion. Here at Morrisons, our own-brand clothing range, Nutmeg, is preparing to welcome a special delivery too – our autumn/winter baby essentials range.

“Nutmeg’s new collection is right on royal trend with classy staples and princely party outfits.”

Tesco siad: “We know many of our customers who are parents will have experienced this. So we have asked parents across the UK, in our ‘Tesco Loves Baby’ baby club, to share their best advice for life with a newborn. 

“We’re collating the feedback through our Twitter @TescoBabyClub and publishing the best tweets in a beautiful baby book full of helpful hints and tips to send to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.”

IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch said: “In recent years national events like the Royal Wedding and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee were accompanied by a rise in food and grocery sales as shoppers celebrated at home with family and friends.

“While there may not be a public holiday this time, we expect the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s son to be another ‘oasis moment’ that boosts shoppers’ sentiment and encourages them to buy quality British products to toast his arrival.”