A royal opportunity

At this time of year retailers are normally gauging whether Easter was any good. This year, however, things are a little different. The promotional fest that is Easter has, in some respects, been overshadowed by that rather less frequent national occasion: a royal wedding.

Tomorrow’s celebration has either been viewed by retailers as a solid commercial opportunity or a public holiday too far that will see sales sacrificed on the altar of regal matrimony. Whichever proves to be the case, it may result in a mixed bag for those retailers that have stuck their temporarily crowned heads above the parapet.

On the thoroughly unscientific basis of a quick walk around the major streets of central London, fewer than half of our retailers have opted to mark the occasion. And those that have, with the exception of John Lewis, tend to be smaller footprint operators. The treatment that has been adopted varies widely, although the Union Jack is a unifying feature throughout.

Normal service resumes next week and the joint 2011 Easter and royal nuptials festivities will, presumably, be quickly consigned to memory, only to be revisited the next time a future king decides that it’s time to get hitched… and to do so at Easter.

Penhaligon’s, Burlington Arcade

Upmarket scent and unguent retailer Penhaligon’s is also the proud possessor of a royal warrant and takes a knowing view of tomorrow’s event.

A gold throne upholstered in a regal red fabric leaves the onlooker in no doubt that this is a serious business, but it is not without its fun side. With village fête-style bunting and red, white and blue plinths bearing Union Jack-labelled bottles of scent, it offers a patriotic take on things, although not without an element of irony.

Even the liquid in the outsize scent bottles, with ground glass stoppers, is red, giving the windows a real sense of pomp. Given the modest size of the two Penhaligon’s stores in the area - the Burlington Arcade and the other store around the corner on Regent Street - what has been done is impressive and respectful fun.

John Lewis, Oxford Street

Stare at the windows of the Oxford Street flagship and the one thing that quickly becomes apparent is that the Kate and Wills show seems to have a relatively minor place in the store. Wander towards the middle of the ground floor and things change. This is one of the biggest themed displays that uses the royal wedding as an opportunity to shift some ‘British’ merchandise.

At the heart of several piled-high tables there is a table with messages such as ‘Hip Hip Hooray’, ‘Three cheers for the happy couple’ and ‘Come together and celebrate’ with the writing in red and black, set against a white background.

The overriding motif, however, is the Union Jack, whether it’s on the cushions or on the various mugs, tea-cosies and rugs similarly patterned and appliquéd.

This may sound a little tacky but, situated in the middle of such an archetypically English department store, there is a strong sense of knowing kitsch about what’s been done and shoppers seemed to be smiling as they inspected the offer.

The Body Shop, Oxford Street

There is a lot of Union Jackery in the window of the Body Shop on Oxford Street and if you didn’t know there was a royal wedding in prospect, there is no reason why you might suspect this to be the case. The retailer has used the occasion to put the message ‘Perfect together. Buy one get one half price’, accompanied by a graphic of a crown, into its windows.

Inside, the same pattern is repeated, with shelf-edge ‘wobblers’, all bearing the same message and using patriotic colours and crowns.

The point about this is that the ethical retailer has used the royal wedding in the most commercial manner, more or less ignoring William and Kate and turning the event into a promotional spectacle.

There is nothing wrong with this, of course. It is merely a good example of how a tangential approach can be taken to a major occasion while still ensuring that the link is made in the mind of the viewer between offer and the cause of dancing in the streets. Clever really.

Clinton Cards, Oxford Street

There’s nothing like a royal wedding to get the gift industry working overtime and this branch of Clinton Cards has decided that the best way to garner additional turnover is to give things British pride of place at the store entrance. No surprise therefore that the shop has William and Kate set against a Union Jack on a poster in the window. On the day of visiting, this was next to a small poster of a St George’s Cross, reminding us that the national saint’s day was last Saturday.

Step across the threshold and it’s a case of Beefeater teddy bears and Union Jack crescent graphics on the perimeter. There is little to be said about the display other than that it is lowest common denominator stuff and seemed to be largely ignored in favour of the Easter-related merchandise deeper inside the shop.

Hatchards, Piccadilly

Glance above the frontage of posh bookstore Hatchards and your eye will be caught by a coat of arms. This retailer is ‘by appointment’ and, as such, you’d expect it to be fairly ostentatious in its support for the royal wedding. This proves to be the case with a small pile of celebratory William and Kate tomes displayed with a Big Ben montage graphic as a backdrop.

It’s actually quite hard to work out whether this is done for the benefit of the many tourists who pass through this part of central London, or perhaps to provide some sort of commentary on the occasion for locals. Whichever version of events was the genesis, the bow window and olde worlde charm of the Hatchards shopfront mean that this doesn’t look like out-and-out exploitation and might even come across as reverential.