The coronation weekend delivered a boost for newstrade sales in stores, according to publishers, retailers and wholesalers.
Smiths News revealed to Better Retailing that Saturday sales increased by an estimated 5%, and Sunday sales by 31%. They say the largest increases were seen on titles such as the Times and the Telegraph.
A spokesperson from The Sun and Times publisher News UK agreed, stating: “The coronation proved popular among existing readership and less-frequent readers. Sales were higher on Saturday and significantly more so on Sunday. There was also a ‘halo’ effect on sales in the following issues.”
News UK added pullouts and panoramic wraps to a number of titles to “illustrate the best of the coronation”, and distributed hundreds of thousands of Sun flags to the public, including many to RN’s readers.
Retailer Aman Uppal told Better Retailing: “We saw a 15% increase in overall sales in the run-up to the coronation, and an even bigger one on newspapers and magazines on the weekend itself. The Mail and The Sun performed better than expected for us.”
Commemorative issues of Hello! and OK! magazines were praised for their high performance, with Smiths citing a 247% sales increase for Hello! and 195% for OK! in the first few days of sale.
John Wreaves, managing director at Royal Life publisher Legacy Magazines, confirmed sales of the company’s royal-interest magazine were up by 50% week on week, with much of its merchandise sold out and presales strong on its post-coronation edition.
A spokesperson for Smiths News said: “The coronation has shown us that people value coverage of live historic events and are keen to have commemorative issues.”
A spokesperson for Menzies Distribution added: “We would like to thank all retailers and our partners in the end-toend supply chain for their continued support, over the bank-holiday weekend and beyond.”
Several publishers confirmed they were already looking for ways to build on the increased sales of print titles and adapt the strategies that succeeded during the coronation for future events.
This is thought to include a renewed focus on special editions, which have delivered results over the recent royal funerals and coronations, as well as sporting events, with the Mirror’s recent Grand National special said to have performed well.
A spokesperson from News UK told Better Retailing: “Retailers play an important part in the local communities, and events such as the coronation can bring local communities closer together.”
The Fed claimed the success showed what can happen when all parts of the supply chain, from stores to printers, perform at the tops of their games.
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