HELLO #83 Who would have thought it - all three of our beloved boardsports are now Olympic sports. Much has been said in the debate, but let’s start off by looking at business. The 2016 summer was always going to struggle to live up to the hype and success of 2015’s summer, with its great weather and decent waves. So when the weather simply didn’t materialise for summer 2016 until July, it was always going to make for tough trading conditions. As reliant as our way of life is on the weather, when it doesn’t cooperate, all it takes is for one or two other factors to go awry and the season presents a real mountain to climb. This summer pitched plenty of curveballs; beginning with the hideous terror attacks in France and then Britain’s decision to exit the European Union. Both factors were completely unexpected and sent shockwaves around Europe, the reverberations of which will be felt for some time to come. As times get tougher and tougher, a vicious circle is brewing with retailers and
