Royal baby brings challenges for souvenir makers
Source: Agencies |
July 12, 2013, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S a royal bonanza - but for Britain's souvenir makers, also a royal headache.
The upcoming birth of Prince William and his wife Kate's first child is a golden opportunity that comes with a mystery: the name and gender of the baby.
It all means that, while merchants have known for months that the future heir to the throne is due in mid-July, they'll be sent into a mad dash to create, or at least put finishing touches to, royal baby memorabilia.
Sophie Allport, a designer of fine bone china, is one manufacturer waiting for the future monarch's name to send her commercial plans into motion.
She has thousands of pre-orders for hand-crafted commemorative mugs but can't fill them until the baby's name can be etched on the rims.
She's as ready as she can be - having prepared blue and pink designs depending on whether it's a prince or princess.
"We've never done something like this so I hope it works," said Allport, whose designs will be delivered to the city of Stoke-on-Trent, the center of Britain's ceramic industry.
Be it Alexandra, George or Elizabeth, or any of the other names touted as possibilities, Stoke-on-Trent's workers will then apply Allport's designs to 10,000 mugs.
Other manufacturers have taken a different approach, opting for gender-neutral baby-themed merchandise, from "I Love Uncle Harry" baby bibs to "Born to Rule" baby clothes.
Britain's Centre of Retail Research says royal baby fever is expected to contribute 56 million pounds (US$84 million) to the UK souvenir industry.
Entrepreneurs from other countries are also eager to get in on the act. In China, factories are standing by.
Tangshan Hengrui Ceramics, in Tangshan, Hebei Province, which produced 50,000 plates to mark William and Kate's marriage, is prepared to give special treatment to the royal birth.
"It usually takes a couple of months to get our products to the UK," said Tangshan spokeswoman Joanna Cui.
"But if it's something like a royal birth we can get it done in a much shorter time."
The upcoming birth of Prince William and his wife Kate's first child is a golden opportunity that comes with a mystery: the name and gender of the baby.
It all means that, while merchants have known for months that the future heir to the throne is due in mid-July, they'll be sent into a mad dash to create, or at least put finishing touches to, royal baby memorabilia.
Sophie Allport, a designer of fine bone china, is one manufacturer waiting for the future monarch's name to send her commercial plans into motion.
She has thousands of pre-orders for hand-crafted commemorative mugs but can't fill them until the baby's name can be etched on the rims.
She's as ready as she can be - having prepared blue and pink designs depending on whether it's a prince or princess.
"We've never done something like this so I hope it works," said Allport, whose designs will be delivered to the city of Stoke-on-Trent, the center of Britain's ceramic industry.
Be it Alexandra, George or Elizabeth, or any of the other names touted as possibilities, Stoke-on-Trent's workers will then apply Allport's designs to 10,000 mugs.
Other manufacturers have taken a different approach, opting for gender-neutral baby-themed merchandise, from "I Love Uncle Harry" baby bibs to "Born to Rule" baby clothes.
Britain's Centre of Retail Research says royal baby fever is expected to contribute 56 million pounds (US$84 million) to the UK souvenir industry.
Entrepreneurs from other countries are also eager to get in on the act. In China, factories are standing by.
Tangshan Hengrui Ceramics, in Tangshan, Hebei Province, which produced 50,000 plates to mark William and Kate's marriage, is prepared to give special treatment to the royal birth.
"It usually takes a couple of months to get our products to the UK," said Tangshan spokeswoman Joanna Cui.
"But if it's something like a royal birth we can get it done in a much shorter time."
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