Andy Miles

Dike & Sons, Stalbridge, Dorset

“We’ve got some boxes with Union Jacks that we never throw out because they always come in handy. We’re starting our preparation for that. We’ll do a nice display after Easter, when we’ve got more space. We’re expecting to sell tins of biscuits and chocolate, with Union Jacks and King Charles on them. We’ve tried not to go too heavy on the proper Charles stuff because you’ll only get one time to use that. But the Union Jack can be used for lots of future events as well.

“A bit like the Queen’s funeral, this will be something that most people haven’t ever experienced. It’s quite hard to judge how people will respond, so we’re being a little bit cautious. We have a kitchen where we make sandwiches and pizzas. We did a Mother’s Day afternoon tea box for two and we’ll be doing the same but for a coronation celebration box. People like to celebrate and it’s a good opportunity to provide catering.”

Anil Patel

Costcutter Chislehurst, Kent

“We’ve not been sent much advertising material or PoS to provide fanfare for our store. So, we’ve ordered bunting and flags and some other things to get the mood of the customers up. I think it will be similar to the Platinum Jubilee, and hopefully the weather will be good, which will boost drinks sales. If the weather’s horrible, I fear it could be a bit of a washout.

“Like the Jubilee and the funeral, it will be something that’s happening continuously throughout the day and the weekend. People will be nipping out to pick up things that they’ve run out of. We had a 15% uplift in sales that whole funeral week and I think there will be something similar for the coronation weekend, so we’ll be stocking up more. Our weekend sales are usually triple our weekday sales. As the coronation’s on a Saturday, we expect the Sunday papers to have a massive increase in sales because they will be so commemorative.”

Anish Panchmatia

One Stop Wylde Green, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

“I think the coronation won’t be as big as the Jubilee weekend. The Platinum Jubilee happened after Covid-19, so street parties were allowed for the first time in a while and people had money. Unless there’s a big shift in energy pricing, I don’t think the numbers will be as good.

“People now are far worse off than they were during the pandemic and it’s starting to take a toll. You have to consider the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.

“We’re cautiously optimistic, and will be stocking up more than we would ordinarily, but it could be tough. It is happening towards the start of the month, so people should have more money, but there will be so many bank holidays in May this year, and the coronation will be the second one. We’ll do the store up and get the decorations up and it will be interesting, but we’ll be much more cautious than we were last year.”

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