Sentinel business editor Dave Johnson gives his views on Wedgwood going into administration.

THE uncomfortable truth about Wedgwood's fall into administration is that it could have been avoided.

For 10 years, objective commentators have been questioning business decisions that saw parent group Waterford Wedgwood rack up debts of more than £400 million.

And for the last three years, most onlookers have been amazed that the firm has been able to summon up enough cash to open its doors at all.

The group seemed to lurch from crisis to crisis, kept afloat largely by private funding from chairman Sir Anthony O'Reilly and his family.

There was always talk of restructuring programmes, and piecemeal redundancies brought hardship for North Staffordshire families.

If the nettle had been grasped years ago, there would have been more pain in the short term, and there would probably have been fewer than the estimated 1,000 people working at Barlaston at the moment.

But there would probably still have been a company, free of administration, manufacturing significant amounts of high-end product in North Staffordshire, using local skills and contributing to the local economy.

Cutbacks at Barlaston have always been blamed on the relatively high cost of North Staffordshire labour, but that is only part of the story.

Frequent management changes have not helped, stock levels are too high, the group was too slow to respond to changing tastes and the Royal Doulton buyout created problems and costs rather than reducing them.

Now administrator Deloitte has to find a buyer – or buyers – for a group saddled with massive debts and a high cost base.

The Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands will still be attractive, Wedgwood sales are on the up and the weakness of the pound means exports from the UK are more attractive than they have been for years.

Stocks of finished product and work in progress would also be included in any sale.

But will a buyer from the U.S., the Middle East or even the UK be interested in the Barlaston plant and the people who work there?

The fear now is that Barlaston will be left with a handful of workers to produce the occasional one-off piece and to entertain the American and Japanese tourists passing through the visitor centre and museum. Maybe this is a good thing. Maybe North Staffordshire needs a rude awakening to force it to shake off the stifling glories of the past and focus on creating a truly mixed economy with higher employment levels, higher average salaries, higher skill levels and higher aspirations.

But globally-recognised brands like Wedgwood and Doulton, refreshed and revamped by new owners, could be part of that transformation.

The employees at Barlaston and their families will be hoping there is still time for that to happen.