But it is not just the b-word, of course, and Butler-Adams also outlined a combination of factors, including Brompton's supply chain being affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and tensions between China and Taiwan, with both Ukraine and Taiwan producing titanium used in the folding bikes' frames.
"You can't shuffle your business to offset today's drama," he said. "That's because, as today’s drama disappears, tomorrow's is developing. What you have to do is try and build a business that is resilient to all manner of impacts, including those that haven't even come yet. "We can't be all things to all people, but price is not what's stopping people from cycling – I reject that idea. You can buy a basic single-gear bike for £50 second-hand if you want to," he said.
"It is the apparent wisdom of humans, this supposedly apex, super-smart species on Earth, that we have to live in cities. These are often the most unhealthy places to live. The air quality is poor, people aren't active and there are obesity problems. How did we let this happen?" he asked.
Brexit isn’t the issue, it’s the level of incompetence of the government in implementing it. Maybe wouldn’t so bad either if govt hadn’t fecked us up with Covid lockdown and massive inflation. Maybe Brompton over-egged it during lockdown when ppl went riding
‘I don’t see Brexit as a massive disaster.” Will Butler-Adams, Nov 2017