Date: 13 Apr 2022
Darklands 2022
It is with great sadness that The Kinksters Adult Store has had to pull out of the 2022 Darklands festival in Antwerp.
This has been a tough decision, but unfortunately a number of issues surrounding the logistics have meant that trading there is just simply not possible.
Since Brexit, trading within the European Union has become much more difficult. Increased tariffs, import duties and import and export paperwork have slowed the processes and made things much more costly. On top of this, companies are no longer able to move around the EU freely with stock, allowing them to be able to operate pop up stalls.
We are now required to import and export stock which involves extra tariffs, a great deal of paperwork and have revealed other problems limiting the ability to be able to trade within the EU.
We have approached the Welsh Government for advice on this matter, but upon asking the name of our business, refused to provide us with any information on how we can go about this, despite the nature of our business having nothing to do with the advice we have been asking for.
We have explored numerous options including sourcing stock already in the EU, however even the structure and framework of our pop up stand would still need to be exported and imported on temporary paperwork and would still require these fees to be paid.
After a great deal of stress, chaos and confusion, it is with a heavy heart that we have had to step back from this year’s event.
With a lack of clarity from the government, an huge increase of costs and the difficulty of importing and exporting, sadly we feel that this is the only option we have.
We would like to confirm that we are still sponsoring the event, so make sure you pop down to our Kraken Bar and Bistro at Darklands for some tasty snacks and drinks!
This is by no means anything to do with the Darklands Festival, and we hope it is possible for us to attend next year’s event, as it is one of our favourites!
We would like to thank Jeroen and the team for their help and understanding regarding the situation and we wish the whole Darklands team all the best with this year’s festival.
Please don't forget us!
In the mean time, you can shop in advance online 24/7 and have your order delivered to you before the event.
And of course, we hope you all have a fantastic time!
Fingers crossed we will be there next year!