Meghan and Prince Harry’s first baby will be a global money spinner
Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s baby is expected to generate more than $2.2 billion in retail spending as consumers try to keep up with the latest baby toys and products.
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The much-anticipated birth of Prince Harry and wife Meghan’s baby is expected to generate more than $2.2 billion in retail spending as consumers scramble to keep up with the latest regal fashions, baby toys and products.
With just weeks to go until the Duchess of Sussex’s due date, company Babyletto has already
enjoyed a boost in sales after its eco-conscious 3-in-1 crib was seen being wheeled into her lavish Upper East Side baby shower in New York.
Outfits worn by the baby’s cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and even little Prince Louis, routinely sell out, and Meghan and Harry’s newest addition to the royal family will be no different.
Baby Sussex will be a brand powerhouse, with Professor Joshua Bamfield from the UK’s Centre of Retail Research (CRR) predicting about $2.219bn would be spent within the first 15 to 16 years of the child’s life by consumers seeking to emulate his or her style.
Princess Charlotte, 3, the second child of Prince William and his wife Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, was estimated by the CRR to generate $276m a year for the UK babywear,
childrenswear, teens and fashion industries.
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An increase of 13 per cent in the sales of prams, pushing it to a new total of $531m, was expected after the birth of Prince George, 5, with similar gains estimated in the realm of clothing, toys and accessories.
Interest waned for Prince Louis, almost 1, who the CRR estimated would have a retail effect of around $159 million including memorabilia, celebrations, books and infant goods.
Consumers flock to purchase whatever the royals are wearing, often causing websites to crash as brands benefit from the unparalleled impact of their endorsements.
When the Duchess of Cambridge appeared with Prince George on the steps of St Mary’s Hospital with him wrapped in a shawl from Nottingham-based knitwear company G.H. Hurt & Sons, interest in the product soared.
History repeated after the birth of Princess Charlotte when she was presented to the world in the same shawl, as was her younger brother Prince Louis.
It’s not just the royal children’s clothes that parents are scrambling to get their hands on. British toymaker Jellycat experienced a 43 per cent increase in profits a year after Princess Charlotte was photographed with its Fuddlewuddle Puppy in 2015.
Costing just $29 and change, the stuffed toy featured in a photo taken by the Duchess of Cambridge in the lead up to Christmas, making it a sellout.
Similarly, a wooden toy train belonging to Prince George, seen at the bottom of a 2016 family
photograph, flew off the shelves at family-run British toy store Orange Tree Toys.
The Duchess of Cambridge is changing the face of fashion by dressing her children in timeless pieces that age well — some even hand-me-downs from Prince Harry and William.
It’s thanks to this style that saw Prince George made GQ’s Best Dressed list before he was even 18 months old.
Designer Alber Elbaz lauded the tot for “already following in the footsteps of his great-great-great-uncle, Edward VIII, and his grandfather, the Prince of Wales … to become the UK’s best-dressed man”.
Prince George went on to make Tatler magazine’s top 30 Britain’s Best Dressed list in 2018 for “flying the flag for Christopher Robin chic” with his penchant for knee-high socks, collars and shorts.
One of the designers who can take credit for Prince George’s success in the fashion world is London-based designer Rachel Riley.
Her brand is a favourite of Catherine’s, who regularly dresses her eldest child in the brand’s traditional outfits.
Prince George has worn Rachel Riley outfits on five public occasions with several items featuring in official photographs including the Queen’s 90th birthday.
Riley told News Corp the fashionable prince had raised the profile of the company as well as changed the way people look at boyswear.
“Whenever Prince George was pictured wearing our outfits, there was certainly a positive effect on the business overall, as well as a spike in sales in the particular items that he wore,” she said.
“He has certainly been trendsetting for this traditional style.
“It was such fun that Prince George was included in GQ’s ‘Best Dressed’ list, as he was the first toddler to be included, we hope that some of our outfits contributed to him making the list.”
Smocking, an English embroidering technique, has been favoured by the royal children for
generations but is now enjoying more time in the sun due to its incorporation in Prince George’s formal and casual outfits.
Popular Rachel Riley items he’s worn include sailboat smocked dungarees, an ivory and red smocked set that he wore for Princess Charlotte’s christening and a blue cord short and shirt set he wore during a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
The brand’s Heritage collection was even designed to coincide with the first royal birth and
encompasses a selection of classic pieces for boys and girls.
Despite the soaring interest in brands endorsed by the royal children, Prof Bamfield said only
between $92-147m would be spent immediately in response to the birth of baby Sussex,
considerably less than the estimated $455m spent five years ago for Prince George’s arrival.
“We’ve interviewed a representative sample and we just don’t see people going out of their way to celebrate the birth of the baby,” Prof Bamfield said.
“We’re expecting part of that spending is going to be people buying souvenirs and so on.
“People have got a mug or cup or a plate or a spoon for every royal child born.”
Meghan’s prominent focus on ethical fashion is expected to help the already booming industry,
according to Prof Bamfield, who said ethical wear, ethically produced products and natural colours worn by the infant would be important.
She’s already given her child an ethical start with a Babyletto crib made with “eco-friendly, non-toxic materials backed with Greenguard Gold Certification”.
Google searches for the brand hit an all-time high after the crib was snapped being delivered to Meghan’s baby shower in New York earlier this year.
“Our Hudson crib has always been one of our best-selling cribs across all our Babyletto mums and we’re definitely happy that Meghan has one as well,” a spokesperson for the company said.
Ethical brands such as Reformation, Veja and Gabriela Hearst all came to prominent international attention after being worn by the Duchess of Sussex and Australian brand Outland Denim had to double its production after she wore their jeans on her trip Down Under.
Susan E Kelley, creator of websites What Kate Wore, What Meghan Wore and What Kate’s Kids Wore, said she expected sustainable children-wear brands to be a favourite for Meghan’s child as well as luxury brands.
“I think we’ll see some brands that do organic textiles like Stella McCartney — brands she already wears and has an affinity for,” Ms Kelley said.
“I think we’ll see some brands that we’re not familiar with.
“There’s brands she’s worn like Ralph Lauren, Dior, Givenchy and Burberry that I don’t think are out of the question.”
The obsession with what the royal children are wearing will continue to propel brands to
international success according to Ms Kelley, who said the new Sussex Royal Instagram page would allow the public more access to the child’s clothing choices.
The Instagram account — which has allowed Meghan and Harry to have their own social media separate from Kensington Palace — broke records with more than one million followers gained in less than six hours.
“There’s a lot of appeal being able to buy the Rachel Riley outfit George wore or being able to order a monogrammed bathrobe,” Ms Kelley said.
“I just see grandmothers and mothers saying, ‘yes isn’t it cute? It’s what they wore’.
“I wouldn’t think we were going to see a lot of froufrou, frills and embellishments.
“I think they’ll be classic pieces.”
Sales will only increase further with rising interest from the US market due to Meghan’s dual-
citizenship with new of the glamorous American royal providing a break from the hard-news cycle.
“It is a nice respite and a topic that is so removed from Brexit and so removed from politics here that I think people are really looking,” Ms Kelley said.
“It’s a fun topic that’s harmless.”
Bookies are also benefiting from the worldwide excitement with Ladbrokes spokesman Alex Apati estimating the amount of bets placed on Meghan and Harry’s baby to surpass those placed on Prince George.
“It’s hard to give an exact figure but we’re anticipating an industry amount of over $1.845m to be staked on all things royal baby related by the time the name of the baby is announced,” he said.
“That’s on a similar level — if not a touch higher — than Kate and Will’s first born, George. It’s significantly more than we saw as an industry for Prince Louis.”
The largest bet placed so far on the betting site was $3690 on the baby to be a girl at 8/11.
Diana held strong as the favourite name for punters before being surpassed by Elizabeth with odds of 8/1 and 6/1 respectively.
The royal baby name obsession is going beyond a casual punt as each new baby and royal marriage brings about a spike in parents adopting the name for their own newborns.
According to data from Baby Centre, after the birth of Prince Louis his name jumped 17 per cent in popularity and following Prince Harry’s marriage to the Duchess of Sussex, the number of children named Meghan jumped 49 per cent.
Princess Charlotte’s name was already rising in popularity ahead of her birth in 2015, but now ranks as eighth most popular up from 68th a decade ago.
The name George jumped eight spots during the year of his birth in 2013 to 158th, but peaked in 2017 at 124th place.
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