U.K. Retailer Launches Gift List Registry For Newly Divorced People
January 18, 2010 4:53 a.m. EST
London, England, United Kingdom (AHN) - Top British retailer Debenhams will make available beginning Monday a gift list registry for newly divorced people. The new service is similar to wedding registries designed to help newly married couple with their needs.
Peter Moore of Debenhams explained that when a divorce occurs, one partner may end up with no house appliances and basic kitchen ware when he or she moves out of the conjugal home and starts a new life.
He said the retailer expects items such as cookware, cutlery, crockery, glasses, bed linen, towels, toasters, microwaves, shirts, TVs and computer games to be high on the list of gift items that friends and relatives of a newly divorced person would give to their friend.
The high rate of divorce in the U.K. has led to a new industry that caters to the special needs of divorcing couples. Last year, a Starting Over Show was held in Brighton. The event had life coaches, introduction agents and even mystic healers offering their services to Britons who recently became or would become single again.
Late last year, British law firm Lloyd Platt and Company made available divorce vouchers, which some well-meaning friends and relatives gave to as a Christmas gift to couples on the verge of splitting legally.
Law firm founder Vanessa Lloyd Platt said she came up with the idea of divorce vouchers after she observed a 60 percent hike in inquiries for divorce proceedings during the first week of January.
