“Bruce, Stoke-on-Trent
The people in Indonesia from what I have read are not at risk (surprise) and if you know so much, where were you when your business skills were needed, thought so pontificating in the pub.”

“people who don't know anything about the ceramics industry should stop with unhelpful comments, the 75% reduction in the market argument made ealier dosn't make any sense.

Also how quick the media forgets that last year Royal Doulton was ranked number 6 in the worlds superbrands, and also research shows that the only people who care about "Made in England" are the english, please prove that foreign goods are of poorer quality? this is a xenophobic attitude of disgruntled workers or stokies who think they know more about running a business than the people actually running it. I'm specifically thinking of people like the wedgewood decendents that have been dug out of the wood work. and idiots like caudwell who always used to chine in whenever Royal doulton was in the local papers, what does that idiot know about manufacturing? he's a reseller for crying out loud.

Seculation helps no-one focus on saving jobs, fact is the people in indonesia who may lose there jobs are going to a lot worse off.”

“Wedgwood is/was the beacon of the british pottery and ceramics industry.. however over recent years it has sent more and more production over seas in a bit to cut costs but has this realy saved Wedgwood....obviously not.. When people buy Wedgwood they expect to buy a quality product from the beacon of world ceramics and contracting out production in my opinion has led to the demise of Wedgwood. I hope that somone buys Wedgwood and keeps production in the UK saving 100's of jobs and makes Wedgwood the iconic brand that it once was....”

“My wife and I now run her family business ( her great grandfather started in 1895). Since 1895 our company has traveled FAITHFULLY to Stoke On Trent to buy from the many many potters there. In the eighties during my first trip over, my father- in- law and I would discuss in great detail the state of the pottery trade in Stoke. We talked about the fact that Royal Doulton and Wedgwood ,during the sixties , seventies and eighties, were buying up all the smaller potteries and closing them down. Why? GREED and STUPIDITY. They wanted to be the kings . They ( upper management) thought that as long as an item had their back stamp, the world would line up to buy it. These two companies have done more damage to pottery trade in Stoke with their arrogant and selfish attitudes than any other sources they are faced with now. Where are these kings today?”

“The man from Wisconsin hits the nail on the head.
The reason the pottery market flourished in the US is the ideal that it came from an old fashioned town in little old England and was made in factories that were older than most of the cities in the US itself.
Same applies up here. Hopefully a shrewd businessman picks it up at a bargain and returns it to its roots.”

“This is a sad day for Stoke on Trent and Wedgwood. There is a factory full of fantastic, hard working people that will be feeling the pain of this today - they deserve much better than this. Their craftsmanship and the products they produce deserve better than to be cloned and recreated overseas at a very low standard, shame on the board for not having a robust enough stratergy to guide these people through this awful time. Good luck to you all as you find out your cruel fate.”

“Whilst all this is going on can I ask what the Wedgwood Trust have to say ? What is happening to the recently opened museum and the fantastic collection within ? If the Wedgwood factory doesn't continue production in England then it is hardly a fitting museum for the 'stuff'' now produced in the East,”

“Daniel Hemmerich, Eau Claire WI. USA
Why does it take someone from the colonies to hit the nail on the head, well said , couldn't agree with you more.”

“Fantastic ! Daniel at last someone else can see what wrong, it's just a shame that the "management" didnt listen to the people of the potteries many years ago when the writing was on the wall....a blind man could see what was happening !
Maybe Daniel should come and show them how it should be done.
Wedgwood, Downsize, relocate and make the name good again ! bring it home to Stoke !”

“Wedgwood failed, and nearly every other Stoke Potter has failed due to thinking only about price, not about image, quality and reputation. Surely all have noticed that the more the industry went off shore, the worse business got. What market was left for fine English tableware wanted ENGLISH, not Chinese or other countries goods. But rather than face the REALITY of becoming smaller but still English and being able to keep trading almost every Stoke firm ran off shore in their foolish quest to be larger than the market would bear, and by so doing destroyed their images as fine English, and lost their customer base. The result of this is not a smaller company, the result is NO COMPANY at all.

For the above insanity the managers and boards must be blamed. Any fool could see that the market for better tableware has been shrinking for years, I.E. a survey done by the trade jounal H.F.N. in America found that 75% of meals are eaten outside the home. Meaning? The market for fine tableware had shrunk by 75%. So where did the managers think they were going to sell their products with the majority of people no longer looking to buy better tableware? Where? BUT, there was still a market, albeit considerably smaller for fine English products. But there was NO market, as proven, for non English products being sold as English. So by insanely rushing off shore to make their brands, insisting that doing so was the only salvation for their businesses the managers and misguided boards have proven without question that trying to foist off goods other than English as English is a one way ticket to ending the business, and that proof is here proven with the probable ending of Wedgwood. And the sad part is, this did not have to happen if only common sense and reality would have entered into the decision making process. And the reality is, it would be much better to be a smaller company and STILL ENGLISH, than not English with NO company or business at all!”