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From Caviar to Cardboard Cutouts, Businesses Hope for Coronation Boost

Royal enthusiasts hold images of Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort as they camp along the Mall, ahead of their coronation, in London, Sunday, April 30, 2023. (AP)
Royal enthusiasts hold images of Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort as they camp along the Mall, ahead of their coronation, in London, Sunday, April 30, 2023. (AP)
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From Caviar to Cardboard Cutouts, Businesses Hope for Coronation Boost

Royal enthusiasts hold images of Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort as they camp along the Mall, ahead of their coronation, in London, Sunday, April 30, 2023. (AP)
Royal enthusiasts hold images of Britain's King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort as they camp along the Mall, ahead of their coronation, in London, Sunday, April 30, 2023. (AP)

Businesses are seeking to entice royal fans with a slew of products marking the coronation of Britain's new monarch. Mugs, plates, tea towels, magnets, cushions and teddy bears are staple memorabilia for royal occasions and an array of these to mark King Charles' coronation on May 6 are already filling shop windows.

But some retailers are hoping more niche products will also catch the eye of consumers.

Toy brand Matchbox is selling made-to-order 1:64 scale models of the gold state coach, a fixture in royal coronations, while the card game Top Trumps has a new "Kings & Queens" version. Others are selling coronation varieties of the games pass the parcel, bingo and charades.

Biscuit maker McVitie’s has a limited-edition tin that pays homage to Charles and his wife Camilla's love of nature as well as the monarch's watercolor painting hobby, while numerous labels and supermarkets are marketing teas or sparkling wines.

Brand Caviar House & Prunier has a limited edition tin adorned with the Union Jack and the words "His Majesty's Caviar", while Premier Foods has celebratory packaging for products including Bisto gravy granules and Ambrosia custard.

Supermarkets have dedicated online pages for products and decorations for coronation parties - and the demand is there.

John Lewis Partnership, the owner of the eponymous department stores and supermarket chain Waitrose, said last week searches for coronation products on its website had risen more than 262% on the previous week.

Catalogue retailer Argos says one particular piece is faring well among shoppers - a cardboard cut-out of Charles.

“Our royal family selection of cardboard cut-outs have always been a favorite of our customers, with King Charles proving himself to be a top seller," an Argos spokesperson said.

"Even ('Frozen' character) Queen Elsa can’t compete in the run up to the celebrations."

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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
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Turkish Stocks Jump as PKK Disbandment Adds to Trade Relief

People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk on a small street leads that to the historical Galata Tower in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 25, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish stocks jumped on Monday, bonds climbed and the lira rallied against the euro as news the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group was ending its four decade-long insurgency in the country added to US-China trade cheer.

Global share markets were enjoying a strong surge after the US and China agreed to slash tariffs, but Turkish equities outstripped most other bourses as they jumped more than 3%.

A PKK member said it was ceasing all military operations "immediately" following the group's decision to disband, a move that could boost NATO member Türkiye's political and economic stability.

The lira was up 1.3% against the euro and steady against the dollar, while its international market bonds, which have been losing ground for the last six months, were up nearly 0.7 cents.

The PKK decision followed an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan in February to disband. It is set to have far-reaching political and security consequences for the region, including in neighboring Iraq and also in Syria, where Kurdish forces are allied with US forces.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said the PKK's decision to dissolve was "an important step toward a terror-free Türkiye".

There have been intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.

The PKK's move should now give Erdogan the opportunity to boost spending in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Türkiye, where the insurgency has handicapped the regional economy for decades.

Analysts welcomed the PKK move but added a note of caution.

"It can only be good news," said Christopher Granville, managing director of EMEA & Global Political Research at investment advisory firm TS Lombard. "But is it decisive for the difficult Turkish investment case?"

He said the PKK issue was ultimately "secondary" to questions about Türkiye's recent arrest of Erdogan's main political rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and the broader direction of its macroeconomic policy.

Those concerns have weighed on Turkish markets this year.

MSCI's Türkiye equities index is down more than 13% compared to a near 8% rise in its pan-emerging market index., while lira-denominated government bonds have cost investors more than 8% on a total returns basis.

The cost of insuring Ankara's government debt using Credit Default Swaps (CDS) has also shot up, although Monday's rally saw that ease back.

"A continuation of the pullback (in CDS levels) ... may support banking stocks, which have been the negatively differentiated sector in BIST (Turkish stocks index) in the last 2 months," Garanti BBVA Yatirim's Director Ozgur Yurtdasseven said.

Turkish banking stocks were up 3.8% on the day, but remain more than 16% down on the year in lira terms and more than 20% in dollar terms.