Anyone over the age of 30 will surely remember the “Y2K” or “Millennium Bug” scare, a global anxiety as midnight approached on 31st December 1999. If we were to believe all of the media hype, the dawn of a new century was about to cause global chaos as computer programmes and systems crashed.
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Of course, it didn’t happen. But despite the reassurances of sensible folk from the technology sector, there were undoubtedly those who held their collective breath in trepidation as Big Ben struck midnight and we entered January 1st, 2000, anticipating technological witchcraft and disaster to ensue.
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In the UK, there are those who will be experiencing something akin to this but on a UK scale, now that our exit from the European Union has happened. As of 11pm on Friday 31st, January 2020, the UK was no longer a legal member of the European Union. Yet, as far as I can tell, we all woke up on the Saturday morning and nothing was different.
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Of course, I am being somewhat flippant. There’s still much to be sorted and only time will really tell what the positive and indeed, if any, negative impacts of removing ourselves from the EU will bring about. But I firmly believe the outcomes are very much in our own hands. Already, the tide is turning in the financial forecasts and many companies are reporting fuller order books on the back of Brexit.
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One of the many questions being repeatedly asked is whether we will continue to be bound by the regulations that the EU imposed on us. Shrugging off some of the EU red trading tape would surely enable easier business transactions. However, I rather suspect we will have to abide with what is already in place. For some industries, this may be an issue; but for ours, I certainly don’t see that.
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For the tanning industry, not only do I believe it will be business as usual from hereon in, I believe it will be business getting bigger and better.
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As an industry, we have always been proactive in self-regulating when legislation and regulations were not in place. Professional salon operators who represent the majority of the industry have always exceeded legislative and regulatory requirements, focussed on ensuring the best possible experience for their customers.
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And whilst we endure the mild irritation of anti-tanning campaigners (there are also anti-tanning bed campaigners who paradoxically appear to be fine with responsible sunbathing, but not responsible tanning bed usage – go figure!) we are certainly not letting them get under our skin. The bottom line is that tanning beds are legitimate and well-regulated products. As such, not only do I believe it will be business as usual from hereon in, I believe it will be business getting bigger and better.
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I believe there will be strong support for small and medium size businesses, which reflect the UK’s indoor tanning market sector, to invest and grow. This growth will of course require increased trading of products, the majority of which comes from our European neighbours on the equipment side and the USA on the lotions front.
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So, now that the Brexit deed has been done, it’s time to get on with taking our industry to the next level. Exciting times – you better believe it!
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