Wedgwood owner slumps to loss despite strong Harrods and Selfridges sales

The owner of historic fine china and porcelain brand Wedgwood has slumped into the red despite strong sales through Harrods and Selfridges.

Fiskars UK, which is based in Stoke-on-Trent, is also behind the Waterford, Royal Doulton and Royal Albert brands.

Newly-filed accounts with Companies House have revealed that the business fell to a pre-tax loss of £1.4m in 2023, having made a pre-tax profit of £11.5m in 2022.

The results also show that the Wedgwood owner’s turnover also fell from £33.7m to £29.5m in the year.

Wedgwood was founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood.

Wedgwood owner hoping to woo international tourists

A statement signed off by the board said: “Whilst cost of living pressures, including inflation and energy costs, continued to dampen willingness to spend and impact factory efficiencies it was also a year of significant internal change.

“A new audience was sought for Wedgwood through a series of exciting and disruptive marketing collaborations including Wedgwood Web3, launched at the V&A in London, Charles Jeffery Loverly and Palace.

“Major restructuring within the sales organisation has also resulted in cost savings alongside a focus on fewer, but stronger, account partners and, coupled with pricing and new pay for performance, discount terms, plus extended trade portal usage, has delivered better margin control across the company.

“Recovery of international visitors to the UK, especially London, has seen stronger sales in-store at Harrods and Selfridges, and continuing red-organisation of the teams working there is paying, and will continue to pay, dividends.

“Development of the visitor attraction at Barlaston has continued and revenue levels have returned to pre-Covid levels, even though international visitors have yet to return in significant numbers.

“Recent events onsite with both the Japanese and Chinese tourist bodies are looking to influence this.

“The management of House of Waterford and World of Wedgwood has just recently been amalgamated so that synergies can be leveraged between both sides.”