I have watched the management of Waterford Crystal over the past few years, and have been amazed at how clueless they are about their product. Like most bean counters, they have sought to reduce expenses by pushing production into Eastern Europe and any other place where they could drop the cost of production. They must be insane! It’s the only conclusion that makes sense. They have been behaving as if their product is a commodity item like an automobile, or a toaster.
Waterford Cystal and Wedgewood ARE the labors and works of Waterford Ireland and Wedgewood England! Anything else is a fake, even with a waterford/wedgewood label on it, they are FAKES! Waterford Crystal is a luxury item that speaks to Quality not quantity. It means workmanship that a slow and skilled workforce imparts on each and every cut of the crystal. If you want bulk fakes, go to China!
The marketing of Waterford should be on the Apple model, special, and elegant, Not like Microsoft where ‘good enough’ and high volume turnover is the measure.
Now that the bean counters have closed Waterford, THERE IS NO WATERFORD accept no substitutes!
I absolutely agree. Having worked with Waterford Crystal for 20 years I feel its a downright disgrace the way these present workers have been treated. They have given their all to keep this a viable operation and keep it Irish and now to be stopped by private security guards from entering their place of employment, without prior warning is certainly the last straw. I feel it’s all about the almighty dollar just to keep the stock-holders pockets lined and hope that the Irish Government intervenes with this travesty ! The workers have been lied to with broken promises and agreements with underhanded dealings of the receiver. Shame on you! Craftsmanship as we know it has taken a turn for the worse and Hand-Cut Crystal will be a thing of the past. I wonder will the new watermark change to “Made in Indonesia”
As a retailer of Waterford Crystal for many years we have also been affected by their demise. The concern is that the current management do not have an understanding of how to move the company forward again.
Personally I would like to see all the prestige crystal made in Ireland. Quality international factories can then be used to make the celebrity and new product.
The key thing for us now is to establish lead times for product that is currently unavallable. We have customers wanting to spend good money on the brands and are prepared to wait for the outcome.
We need positive information and then lets get together to grow this great brand again.