THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Australia's coldest summer in decades has dampened the mood for Christmas shopping and led to plummeting profits for swimwear and clothing stores.
Several clothing and department store chains have cut prices or closed outlets and shares in surfwear company Billabong today fell to a record low. The company said its profit could fall by as much as 26 per cent.
The unseasonal damp cool conditions – including the coldest start in Sydney since 1960 – has been blamed for a slump in Christmas shopping and big falls in sales of clothing and shoes.
"Clothing retailers are still doing it fairly tough out there," said Russell Zimmerman, from The Australian Retailers Association. "The weather has been too cold for them – they need that really good run of hot weather and they haven't seen it."
The rain and cold, blamed on the La Nina [sic] [La Niña] weather cycle, has affected much of Australia's eastern seaboard. Two weeks ago, the city of Brisbane recorded its coldest December day for 123 years.
The poor weather has forced stores to heavily discount of swimwear and summer clothing, with the big department store chain David Jones dropping prices by 30 per cent. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Monday, December 19, 2011
