Waterford Wedgewood Goes Into Administration

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jan 6th 2009 at 8:01AM

The latest luxury company to hit trouble is Waterford Wedgwood. The Dublin-based company announced on Monday that 10 British units and four businesses in Ireland have been placed into administration after running out of money and failing to find a buyer. The NY Times reports that the other subsidiaries in the U.S., Germany, Canada and elsewhere are not affected. The company has been in talks with lenders for months while a suitable buyer was sought. After takeover talks failed on Friday a group of lenders decided to suspend a covenant that is part of Waterford's loan agreement. Waterford is famous for their crystal and for making the ball that drops each New Year's Eve in Times Square. Waterford Wedgwood was created in 1986 when the Irish crystal maker Waterford acquired the British ceramics company Wedgwood. Wedgwood was founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood and Waterford was founded in 1783 by the brothers William and George Penrose. Sales for the year ending in April 2008 were down 9.4 percent from a year earlier and the company posted a loss of 231 million euros, up from 71 million euros.

Gallery: Brands in Trouble