A Summer of Success
This month I am feeling especially virtuous. Having completed another half ironman race last week, I feel fully justified to take it easy and mess around on the paddleboard and the mountain bike for the rest of the summer. The longer evenings are ideal for family and sports and with the extra daylight comes the chance to get out on the bike or into the beer garden – sometimes both.
But not even the onset of summer can lift the general uncertainty around Brexit.
Importers into the UK don’t really know what way to turn – having concentrated all energies on filling warehouses to land product this side of the water ahead of the 31st March, they are now having to slash production and sell through that stock…before starting the stock build all again for the 31st October. Its playing havoc with supply chains, production and order books of manufacturers whilst generating what economists call ‘super profits’ for warehouse operators.
Is there any end in sight? With a change of Prime Minister could come a hard Brexit, General Election or Second Referendum. My money’s on the latter and a narrow remain vote, but at this stage almost anything is possible in an increasingly bad tempered political scene.
What is remarkable however, is how much business is getting done against this unpromising backdrop. We are seeing projects are being delivered, investments being made, new launches happen. If anything the activity out there is greater than normal – we are busier than ever and taking on a new staff member, our 8th, next month.
Last week it was off to Barcelona for Roseanna and I to attend the EU Free From Expo which we helped set up in 2012 – it’s something of an annual pilgrimage as we go every year to run the conference which this year majored on Vegan, Free From and Lactose Free. One of the best parts of this job is hearing about new products and propositions and it was great to catch up with old friends and meet new clients and get our heads round the new wave of Free From NPD.
Enjoy the early summer!
Hamish
