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Food retailers set for Platinum Jubilee boost

Food retailers set for Platinum Jubilee boost
A woman exits a shop selling commemorative souvenirs for the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, on May 18, 2022 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
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Food stores are set to enjoy a mini-boost to trade as Britons put aside their cost of living worries for a few days and prepare to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee with street parties and barbecues.

With two public holidays on Thursday June 2 and Friday June 3 going into the weekend and decent weather forecast, demand for alcohol, soft drinks, barbecue food and ingredients for desserts is expected to soar.


Market researcher Kantar said that when Britain celebrated the queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, supermarkets saw a 10 per cent boost in sales in the week leading up to the festivities.

"We should never underestimate the appetite for a party, especially a royal one," said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar's head of retail and consumer insight.

Steve Rowe, outgoing chief executive of Marks & Spencer, said last week its customer research had shown that at least 40 per cent of the UK population planned to have a street party.

"These things tend to come together very quickly at the last minute ... We're looking forward to a good celebration with her majesty," he told reporters.

Sainsbury's, Britain's No. 2 supermarket group, said it expected at least a 30 per cent increase in sales of store cupboard staples such as flour, eggs and icing sugar, in the week leading up to the Jubilee bank holiday weekend versus a usual week.

Upmarket supermarket Waitrose said on Friday that sales of savoury pastry were up 14 per cent in the past week year on year, while rose wine sales were up 18 per cent.

It said sales of Dubonnet, the queen's favourite tipple, were up 50 per cent compared to last year.

But the boost to trade from Jubilee spending is expected to be short lived.

Britons are facing a squeeze on their disposable income, with inflation hitting a 40-year peak of 9 per cent in April and projected to rise further.

To cushion the blow, the government last week announced a £15 billion package of support for households struggling to meet soaring energy bills.

Last month, market leader Tesco and Sainsbury's both warned of lower profit this year.

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A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.