TOP TAKEAWAYS
- Saker ShopRites is the first American retailer to carry Carole Middleton’s party merchandise
- The line is available at Saker’s 39 stores with expansion planned for additional ShopRites
- A few degrees of separation to King Charles III: Carole Middleton is Kate Middleton’s mother
Saker ShopRites has reached across the pond to find the kind of party supplies it wants to grace the shelves of its 39 locations.
The Wakefern Corp. cooperative member is now carrying items from British party supplies company Party Pieces, founded by Carole Middleton — the mother of Kate Middleton, aka Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The agreement with Saker ShopRites is the partyware line’s first venture outside the U.K.
“We are thrilled to be the first U.S. retail partner for British heritage brand Party Pieces,” said Richard Saker, president and CEO of Holmdel, N.J.-headquartered Saker, which operates in central New Jersey.
The collection includes a variety of party supplies for children and adults, including cups, hats, balloons, plates, napkins, treat stands, table runners and other decorations.
How did the opportunity come about?
“Party Pieces and Saker ShopRites Inc. are both family-owned businesses that recognize synergies between the two companies,” Saker said. “Party Pieces began as a family company and recognized the value of starting its U.S. expansion in brick-and-mortar stores with an experienced retailer and family-owned business. After visiting Saker stores on a U.S. tour in 2020, Carole Middleton and her team felt Saker ShopRites’ strong presence in a key market would be the perfect backdrop for Party Pieces.”
How is Saker merchandising the new line?
- Products are displayed in special endcaps and in the greeting card aisle
- The collection links to bakery and floral departments in select stores so shoppers match custom cakes and flower arrangements to Party Pieces themes
- Saker is also rolling out Party Pieces Holiday Nutcracker tableware and decorations and cross-merchandising them with other seasonal and nutcracker items
“The decorations and tableware deliver a celebratory ‘wow’ factor for celebrations,” Saker added.
The collection includes reusable and recyclable partyware options, as well as themed party and tableware items like A Very English Rose, Shooting Star, and Dino the Explorer.
Middleton, who founded the line in 1987, recently checked out her collection’s displays at Saker’s supermarkets in Aberdeen, Hazlet, Middletown, and Shrewsbury, N.J.
“It’s very exciting to see our Party Pieces Collection expanding into the U.S.,” she said.
