Forget the bikini - I'll have a pair of slippers and a curry

Charcoal mountains and empty pubs are just some of the symptoms of our washed-out summer, say James Hall and Mark Choueke

Nigel Wilkinson, the managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises, is trying everything to keep his business afloat. Literally.

The Cumbria-based businessman is spending £50,000 replacing his traditional fixed jetty with a floating one that remains above the lake's surface even when water levels rise dramatically. His drastic action follows one of the wettest summers on record.
Wilkinson's is just one of thousands of businesses in the leisure, retail and tourism industries to have been hit for six by a summer of flash floods, monsoon-like storms and temperatures more suited to January than July. For many of these companies 2007 will be remembered for the summer that never arrived.

Everyone is affected, from the UK's listed retailers, pub and restaurant groups, and hotel chains - all of which face the prospect of profit downgrades - to independent stores and the organisers of outdoor festivals and graduation balls.

So what has been the effect of the great summer washout and who has been hit hardest?

In the retail sector a freakishly hot April, a changeable May and the wettest June since records began have taken their toll on clothing retailers. Many are talking about the toughest conditions for five years. Around 110 units at Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre remain shut due to flooding.
"We had a great April and then what happened? May and June happened. We've all been there but no one bought the T-shirt," says Angela Spindler, the global managing director of George, the Wal-Mart-owned fashion line.

The consensus among clothing retailers is that like-for-like sales in June were down by about 10 per cent on average, with those that overstocked on summer lines seeing sales fall by around 30 per cent.

The chief executive of one value fashion chain says that piles and piles of so-called "high summer-wear" remain unsold. "It's been a shocker. Things like smocks sold well but many of the traditional high summer lines have gone down badly - T-shirts, shorts and swimwear. A lot of product is unsold, which is why the high street went on sale early," he says. Manufacturers are stuck with mountains of unsold stock, most of which will end up in end-of-line factory outlet stores. "Manufacturers will be taking a bath on a lot of their stock," says one rag trade executive.

Some small retailers were particularly exposed. A Somerset-based footwear retailer, Lookatmycrazyshoes.com, took a stall at last month's Glastonbury Festival offering 5,000 pairs of Crocs, the achingly cool, rubber sandals beloved of surfers which it had been selling by the truckload.

However torrential rain and five inches of gloopy mud meant that only one fifth of its stock was sold. "Next year we'll have a back-up supply of trawler-suits. Every day I was looking at the forecast, sobbing. We lost money but we learnt from it," says Robin Beech, the retailer's executive.

Clothing isn't the only thing hit. Sales of barbecues fell by 44 per cent in May compared with the previous year, while sales of lawnmowers were 31 per cent down, according to GfK, the market research firm. Some of the decline was because customers brought purchases forward to April due to the heatwave but figures for the year to date show that 2007 is still well below 2006 in sales terms.

Sunshinebbq.co.uk, a website selling barbecues and patio heaters, ceased trading in the past few weeks, although it is not known whether poor sales were to blame. A spokeswomen for Weber, one of the UK's best-selling barbecue brands, says that although she'd like the weather to change, sales are up on last year. "We had a phenomenal April and May," she says.

Away from the high street, tourist attractions are also feeling the pain. Robin Broke, director of the Association of Leading British Attractions, says the country's large tourist attractions were almost five per cent down in May compared with last year. "We need a school holiday. We're very good at pretending it's not raining in the UK, aren't we? It's not very nice to throw our younger generations out into the miserable weather but we do, we tell them to get out and enjoy themselves," he says.

Seaside towns and coastal resorts are suffering significantly, according to Dave Weston who heads the Bed & Breakfast Association from The Pheasants, his four-star B&B in pretty Sherborne, Dorset.

source ; www.telegraph.co.uk