Foot and Mouth impact reaches £40 million
According to the Outdoor Industries Association (OIA) which released the figures, over four in five suppliers reported substantial cancellations of orders for May, with turnover down by over 80 per cent in some cases. Across retailers and their suppliers, half the OIA’s members reported a fall in sales of more than 20 per cent on the previous year. A number of businesses have already closed and almost a fifth of members report laying off staff. In spite of slowly improving access to the UK’s most popular walking and climbing areas, the majority of OIA members believe it will be into the autumn before trade returns to 'normal' levels, with many concerned that substantial volumes of unsold stocks will continue to cause problems through next winter.
Andrew Maxted of the OIA said that members’ cash flow is severely constrained and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. He said that the recent government announcement that grants may be available through its £50m Business Recovery Fund to assist with marketing support and to help meet interest payments are clearly welcome. The Association is currently pressing ministers for clarification of how and when such help will be forthcoming.
