World Cup Hangover.

London's West End theatre district is suffering. Seats are readily available. Is this because of the shows on offer (I doubt it), or the heatwave, ticket prices and the heritage restrictions that prevent the addition of air conditioning to many theatres? Well, these are acknowledged, but astonishingly the World Cup is also cited as an excuse for poor performance.

Many of the feared economic impacts of the tournament that I wrote about before didn't actually come to pass. Indeed there were reports of buoyant retail sales amongst vendors of beer, plasma TVs, food, snacks and sports clothing. Some businesses did suffer temporarily, but I find it hard to imagine this recreational spending boom permanently supplanted too many purchases.

To suggest that this has removed £2 billion from the economy seems to misunderstand the circulatory nature of retail expenditure, while to equate the replica football shirt buyer with the potential theatre-goer is perhaps a little disingenuous. In any case, that was then, this is now. If things aren't going well, look inward and think about what it is you're offering that the potential consumer is rejecting. Don't make excuses, make changes.