Heatwave Dampens British Tea Sales as Retailers Adapt to Changing Consumer Behavior

Britain's obsession with a nice cup of tea is famous around the world. But as the climate changes, that love affair is wilting in the heat. A scorching summer dampened demand for tea, according to Associated British Foods, the owner of tea brand Twinings and malt-drink brand Ovaltine. Hot beverages fell out of favour with customers as temperatures rose as high as 38°C. This summer has been a record-breaker. It was western Europe's hottest summer on record, with heat waves in many countries that began early and persisted from May to Aug. Spain endured 61 days of heat-wave conditions, Germany's temperature hit a new all-time high and the UK had an unprecedented 40 days of temperatures over 30°C. British retail sales struggled in blistering temperatures. Even England's consumer-confidence-boosting progression to the World Cup semi-final couldn't balance out shoppers' unwillingness to brave the high street. Heat is becoming a bigger consideration for British retailers, says Steve Fergus, national head of retail and wholesale at Barclays UK's corporate bank, with growing evidence that shoppers' behaviour changes as the temperature rises into increasingly uncomfortable territory. On Tuesday, British homeware retailer Dunelm said it was embarking on an ambitious turnaround plan, including opening more stores faster, but that its progress had been hindered as repeated heat waves drove shoppers away from the high street. In Aug, Swedish outerwear company RevolutionRace told analysts to take central Europe's high summer temperatures into account when comparing this year's results with its previous set of figures. The heat produced winners as well as losers. Many Brits are reaching for fans, cooling technology and even air-conditioning units for the first time, which is good news for electronics retailer Currys. In July, Magnum Ice Cream reported higher-than-expected sales growth, helped by the hot weather - a turnaround after concerns earlier this year that weight-loss drugs were sapping demand. Bloomberg