Retailers and suppliers are bracing themselves for a nightmarish double whammy.
While the British weather looks like it could wreck the summer, our beloved politicians are threatening to ruin Christmas and new year.
The inevitable return of the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was always going to test industry resolve, without the holiday and barbecue season being a washout too.
And this summer there is no World Cup (at least of the men’s footy variety) or Royal Wedding to bail us out of the soggy June mire.
When it comes to Europe, after an almost surreal period of calm while we all tried to forget about Brexit for a while, the prospect of a cliff-edge departure is once again back with a vengeance. And the storm clouds on the horizon are being whipped up even more by the Tory election candidates seemingly falling over themselves to see who can claim to play the meanest hardball with the EU.
This time, however, the potential of a Halloween Brexit is giving industry leaders even more cause for nightmares than in March.
Food businesses warn MPs of Halloween no-deal Brexit nightmare
Yesterday the FDF warned MPs the prospect of a 31 October no deal would come at the worst possible time for an industry that relies so heavily on the festive seasons – Halloween, Black Friday, Christmas itself. All face being overshadowed by the threat of food shortages and supply chain chaos, which the FDF predicted would last months.
Today Tesco boss Dave Lewis dug out his Hunter boots and waded into the argument. He warned that, unlike with the March deadline, retailers gearing up for the festive season simply do not have the capacity to stockpile to try to prevent food shortages.
Tesco, he admitted, had run down its stockpiles since April and, said Lewis, was doing nothing to prepare for a second time.
If the UK’s biggest retailer finds itself in that situation, then what does that mean for the rest, who find themselves in a position where they can’t stockpile even if they wanted to?
As one industry source puts it: “Businesses are just in complete limbo watching on aghast as politicians in a sort of Alice in Wonderland world try to outdo each other with tough words about a no deal. It’s terrifying.”
It’s not just retailers and suppliers either. The hospitality sector is facing perhaps the biggest event in its calendar, Halloween, turning into a real-life horror show.
With the current political backdrop, it’s little wonder that, as Lewis describes, consumer confidence is “subdued”. At least then, please let us have some sunshine, so we can get out the barbie, crack open a few beers and drown our sorrows for a while.
No comments yet