Waterford Wedgwood Shatters

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The impact of the global economic crisis on fine dining restaurants is not limited to dwindling clientele seeking value meals. Suppliers to fine dining are also feeling the pinch – or should we say the punch, smash, crash. Waterford Wedgwood, the venerable luxury crystal and china maker has gone into receivership, the British equivalent of bankruptcy. Super Chef reported in 2006 that Waterford Wedgwood's sales were sliding despite a roster of celebrity names from Emeril Lagasse and Martha Stewart to designer Vera Wang, attached to its products (read the article by clicking here). The New York Times reports: The company’s shares have declined steadily since 2001 and have traded at less than one euro cent per share since 2004. Waterford Wedgwood now has a market value of around 5.35 million euros but in October had net debt of 448.9 million euros, or $625.1 million. Sales for the year that ended in April 2008 were 672 million euros, down 9.4 percent from a year earlier. The company posted a loss of 231 million euros, up from 71 million euros. There are press reports that a group of British investors may yet rescue the company's 10 British and 4 Irish units. The company's overseas subsidiaries, including those in the US are unaffected. Who will be next? Related news: BBC Guardian Financial Times Reuters Telegraph Wall Street Journal Previous articles: Does Emeril Always Kick Products Up A Notch? [Products & Endorsements - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Super Chef