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Prince William royal wedding gift: £ 620 million to the UK economy
An event with a world audience UK market research company Verdict has forecast the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton and their subsequent Royal Wedding next year could give a £620m (billion US dollars) boost to the economy.
Neil Saunders, Verdict consulting director, said merchandise sales around the engagement alone could be worth between £12m and £18m. He said: “Although times have changed since the last big royal engagement of Price Charles and Lady Diana, many people will still be keen to buy some form of keepsake or memento and retailers will rush to capitalize on the merchandising opportunities.
“The benefit of the wedding itself is much bigger; however, the scale largely depends on how it will be executed. If, as expected, it is a big set piece event, it could well capture the nation’s imagination and provide a fillip to the retail sector. We think wedding-related merchandise sales could easily top £26m in the UK.”
The jeweler trade in London has already seen an upturn due to increasing levels of foreign tourists spending in the capital, and the Royal Wedding is certain to draw in more visitors.
“All of this is before the benefits of travel and tourism are factored in; these could well drum up an estimated additional £216m. In total that means we are looking at a £620m consumer-spending boost. While that may sound like a lot, it should be remembered that this is potentially massive event which will command not just the attention of Britons, but potentially most of the world” said Saunders.
Speaking to the BBC Retail Jeweler editor Laura McCreddie said she expects the engagement to inspire imitation rings and a rise in demand for blue gemstones.
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Read all commentsCool, looking forward to it. The royals look to make us over a billion next year then.
Nov 17th, 2010 - 05:26 pm 0Prince William royal wedding gift: £ 620 million to the UK economy
Nov 17th, 2010 - 07:05 pm 0The title should be:
Prince William royal wedding gift: A Price tag of £ 620 million to the UK economy
Useless people. His mother was a person of value, she cared for others. I remember her saying she wanted to the queen of people's heart, not a bloodsucking wonder.
Nov 17th, 2010 - 07:58 pm 0“I don't think many people will want me to be Queen.
Actually, when I say many people I mean the establishment that I married into, because they have decided that I'm a non-starter.
BASHIR: Why do you think they've decided that?
DIANA: Because I do things differently, because I don't go by a rule book, because I lead from the heart, not the head, and albeit that's got me into trouble in my work, I understand that. But someone's got to go out there and love people and show it.”
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