Woolworths.co.uk Anticipates High Sales Ahead of Royal Wedding

LONDON, April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Woolworths.co.uk has announced it is expecting high sales of party decorations and wedding memorabilia as the UK prepares for the Royal Wedding.

Dan Rubel, brand director at the online family superstore commented: "With the Royal Wedding just around the corner, as well as the Easter bank holiday coming up, people are planning their street parties now and making sure they don't miss out on royal wedding souvenirs before the big day.

"Many families will be spending this period at home due to the warmer weather and tighter budgets, which has meant a big rise in activity on the site, particularly in the Royal Wedding party range."

To date Woolworths.co.uk has sold enough bunting to go around Buckingham Palace four times, enough balloons to cover a football pitch and enough Royal Wedding party cups and glasses to serve champagne to everyone in London and Liverpool combined.

The Royal Wedding has got everyone in the party mood, opting to spend money on royal wedding decorations and merchandise from the site for a fun, family weekend.

Toy buyers from Woolworths.co.uk have also announced that Woolworths has doubled its order of popular children's outdoor toys and furniture to meet demand, as families treat their children to keep them entertained during the bank holidays, including the Royal Wedding. Following the hot weather this month Woolies' sales hit record levels, and with three bank holidays approaching, sales are expected to soar.

Dan Rubel added: "Sales are much better at this point in the year than we expected, and we have had to literally double some of our orders to meet consumer demand. We always see a rise in activity on the site ahead of school breaks and bank holidays, but with three bank holidays in April, thanks to the Royal Wedding, the weather heating up early and families opting to holiday at home due to tighter budgets, we expect sales, specifically on outdoor toys, to be up significantly on last year."

April will see three bank holidays over eight days, (22nd, 25th and 29th) and many families have taken advantage of the fact that they can have ten days off work by only using three days of their holiday.

Although families will have ten days off, they are likely to stay in the UK and watch the Royal Wedding which is why they are splashing out on children's toys rather than booking holidays abroad.

About Woolworths:

Woolworths is part of Shop Direct Group who is the UK's largest online and home shopping retailer with sales of circa 1.7 billion pounds. The Group has 5m active customers and offers 1000's of big brands across a range of categories including toys such as paddling pools and playhouses as well as kids' clothes, women's clothing, men's clothing, furniture, garden furniture and electrical goods.

Brands within the Shop Direct Group portfolio include Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.co.uk, Littlewoods Ireland, Littlewoods Europe, Additions, Great Universal, Choice, Kays, Empire Stores and Marshall Ward.

Woolworths offers standard next day delivery on all of its items on the website, as well as Convenient Collection with Collect+ from a number of local shops. It also offers timed slot delivery, specified day delivery, Saturday deliveries and evening deliveries so that the customer can pick the delivery option most convenient for them.

PR Contact:
Katie Hancock
Golden Goose PR
11-12 Smiths Court
Soho
London
W1D 7DP
+44(0)207-734-2002
http://www.woolworths.co.uk

SOURCE Woolworths