Monday, January 05, 2009

Wedgwood Shattered


Wedgwood china, Waterford crystal and Royal Doulton porcelain are brands that are nothing short of iconic. They're also now in receivership or, as the Brits call it, "administration."

Waterford and Wedgwood merged in 1987 but the heavily indebted firm quickly fell victim to the global economic downturn. BBC business editor Robert Peston said the writing was on the wall:

"Waterford Wedgwood's collapse is a resonant event, that speaks of a noxious global squeeze on consumer spending. Almost everything that it manufactures is a nice-to-have rather than a must-have. And most of us are thinking twice about shelling out on nice-to-haves."

The receiver is optimistic that a buyer will be found to keep the companies in business.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I have this one. Does anybody know what it's worth is? And exactly what used for? I got it from my grandma. Bless her heart.