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Source: Reuters -
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A British manufacturer synonymous with fine china has become the latest victim of the global credit crunch.
Pottery giant Waterford Wedgewood, which also owns Royal Doulton, has called in the receivers.
"There is a certain question mark when the receiver comes in. That's why we were trying to avoid this day," says Redmond O'Donoghue of Waterford Wedgewood.
The crockery brand was founded in the 18th century by Josiah Wedgwood, the father of the industrial revolution.
"This isn't something that's happened suddenly. I think Wedgwood have had quite large losses over the last two years, well before the credit crunch," says Lars Thapp, a ceramic historian.
Losses its main shareholder media mogul Tony O'Reilly tried to stem. He pumped extra funds into the company in a futile attempt to rescue it.
Now it is no longer on the sharemarket and O'Reilly has resigned from the board.
His resignation could have echoes beyond antique stores as O'Reilly also has a big stake in APN, which owns newspapers such as the New Zealand Herald, Listener magazine and half of New Zealand's biggest radio group, The Radio Network.
Analysts say the decline of Waterford Wedgwood may put more pressure on O'Reilly to sell his APN stake fast.
Andrew Hawley Limited's Tim Hawley has been importing Royal Doulton to New Zealand for 12 years and he hopes the brands will endure.
"Those brands are so big and the value of those brands internationally is huge so I can't imagine that someone won't pick them up, just to have the brand name in some form or another. But whatever happens it will be different from what it is at the moment," he says.
