Visitors in the Wimbledon Shop under No.1 Court were thrilled to find Mirra Andreeva and the camera crew for Netflix’s Break Point, who have been following her in their midst.
The 16-year-old – a junior Australian Open finalist who made the third round in her Grand Slam debut in Paris and followed that up by reaching the fourth round on the Wimbledon grass – had ventured into the retail emporium to spend the £250 voucher that all competitors receive from the organisers.
During her half-hour splurge, mementos that went into her basket included a Wimbledon teddy bear (dressed in a cricket jumper trimmed with All England Club purple and green), T-shirts, keyrings, water bottles and boxes that contained room diffusers and candles – which come in Fresh Cut Grass and Strawberries & Fizz scents.
“She looked like she was buying presents for friends,” said an onlooker, though, like Chris Eubanks – another sensation of the 2023 Championships, who has been sporting a Wimbledon-logo cap – she was surely keeping a souvenir for herself.
A mildly wet Fortnight and increased Grounds capacity mean the Official Wimbledon Shops and kiosks are enjoying a bustling trade, with caps, performance wear and towels building on their perennial popularity.
“Demand for the 2023 seasonal towel has been amazing,” reports David Hewitt, Head of Retail.
The striped towel, in “popping fuchsia and pink”, is outselling the classic purple and green Championships towel almost two to one online.
“And it’s getting close to that on the Grounds,” Hewitt reports. “By the tournament’s end, a total of more than 30,000 towels will have been sold.”
The Official Wimbledon Towel revels in iconic status because, as the same 70cm x 133cm product used by players on court at The Championships, it adds an instant frisson to have hanging at home, by the pool or on the beach.
Made by Christy, using their exclusive Hygro cotton technology, the towel features a soft handle and a high absorbency that is perfect for both five-set showdowns and holiday swims.
A new colourway for the seasonal towel is introduced every year. As such, they have become collectors’ items and already people are clamouring to know next year’s hue.
The retail team will not divulge any details; all wimbledon.com can glean is that it is not as eye-popping a statement as this year’s colour.
“Pink was a big call,” says Hewitt. “A new shade has been picked for 2024, and all I’ll say is that it’s in line with the coming season’s trends.”
In other news, Wimbledon’s clothing range expanded this year to feature a semi-formal capsule of items to wear when visiting The Championships: button-down Oxford shirts, chinos, quarter-zip sweaters, some “higher-brow sweatshirts” and bomber jackets.
One day some of the young sales team modelled the items as they went about their work on the shop floor and sales doubled.
The All England Club took its retail in-house five years ago and, under Hewitt’s eagle eye, the development of each year’s new range is predicated, he says, “on the level of detail associated with the 8mm of grass on Wimbledon’s immaculate courts”.
His team creates their own imaginative patterns (see this year's ‘spray’ T-shirt and skort in lime and steel) and bold colours (new-for-2023 botanical green has been a bestseller). The team also buys its own fabrics, assesses a multitude of swatches and prototypes, and visits factories and mills to ensure every item in the 23 ranges fulfils the criteria for quality, sustainability and ethical sourcing practices.
As seen at Wimbledon... it's the ultimate cachet.
When the Princess of Wales played tennis with Roger Federer when meeting the Ball Boys and Girls on the eve of The Champoinships, she wore the full-zip white jacket and sleeveless polo and projected champion style. Needless to say, those items have been much in demand.
The Championships 2024 will take place from July 1 – 14 2024 and the Wimbledon Public Ballot will open in mid-September. Make sure you’re one of the first to hear about tickets for next year’s Championships by signing up to myWimbledon.
