Waterford Files for Bankruptcy

Fellow appraiser Judith Martin posted to the ISA Forum that Waterford had filed for Bankruptcy. Following up, I found this January 5th Wall Street Journal article by Quentin Fottrell confirming that Waterford, the Irish crystal manufacturer has been placed under an Administrator. The company is now looking for a buyer.

Fottrell states The company, based in Kilbarry, Ireland, never fully recovered from the luxury-goods slump after the U.S. terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It also suffered from a weakened U.S. dollar; mounting debt that is now in excess of €400 million, or about $550 million; and changing consumer tastes for its crystal products, which had been regarded as the ultimate middle-class status symbol.

Fottrell continues The company was founded in 1783 by William and George Penrose under the name Penrose Crystal, but it closed in 1851 before being revived by Czech immigrant Karel Bacik and craftsman Miroslav Havel nearly 100 years later.

Waterford, having a total of 7,000 employees also manufactures Wedgwood, Rosenthal and Royal Doulton brands. It will be interesting to see if a buyer is easily found for the Waterford and its other brands in the current climate.

To read the Wall Street Journal article, click HERE.