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Britain and France have experienced their hottest days on record;
forest fires have plagued Portugal, Spain, Italy and France and
Pope John Paul II has encouraged Europeans to pray for rain.
Mad for boardies
Their nearest decent surf beach is more than four hours' drive from
the capital, but the European heatwave is ensuring Londoners can't
get enough of Australian summer fashion. While most European retailers
complain that the heatwave is having an adverse effect on sales,
with sweating customers reluctant to try on clothes, sales of Australian
beach labels are soaring.
"They're not even trying the clothes on, they're just grabbing them
from the stands and buying," said David Gazal, managing director
of Mambo, which has four stores in London and one in Zurich. He
said the company had reported a 70 per cent increase in sales compared
with the same week last year, and during this heatwave week 30 per
cent bigger than the previous seven days. For the first time since
Mambo opened its first store at Covent Garden in 1995, the shops
have had to use nightly delivery trucks to re-stock the board shorts,
summer T-shirts, swimwear and mini-skirts.
Aussie clothing is cool in the heat
Surf wear icons Rip Curl, Billabong and Quiksilver, which are spread
more widely across Europe, have also reported soaring sales, in
line with the temperatures that have gripped Europe for the past
two weeks.
Millions of holidaymakers are buying
gear to escape to the coast in, while those stuck in the sweltering
streets are wearing Aussie gear as a link to laid-back fun in the
sun. "I think that's part of the reason we're doing so well. People
associate Australian clothing with clothing that you wear in hot
weather." Mr Gazal said. And there may be no let up, with meteorologists
predicting the hot weather could persist into next month. Source:
the age
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