What’s going on with the air quality in China couldn’t be called ‘weather’ in any fair sense of the word. But in the parts of the world where what comes from the sky is just plain old rain or snow, or heat or chill, companies often find convenient excuses for bad — or good — performance.

Matt Phillips is a writer at Quartz and he put together a list of his favorite weather-related business rationalizations.

Yes, warmer weather means sweater sales will be slow at the Dress Barn. That seems obvious, but did you know that cold weather in China means that South African breweries don’t do so hot?

“SAB Miller, the giant South African Brewing company, blamed exceptionally cold and wet weather for a decline on their volume of sales in China,” Phillips says. “If it’s cold, I guess you don’t want to reach for a frosty one.”