The popular ‘Darley Abbey’ collection


is important to the future of the brand, even today. “The important thing, and the thing that drives me personally (and I hope many other people in this business) is that we take a lot of care and trouble to do things the best way to use our skills and to produce products which have a rich and lasting value. People should buy not necessarily to sell it for profi t next week, but because it will retain its integrity content, workmanship, tradition and history - all the things which a cultivated cultured society ought to value.”


Having just marked 10 years at the helm of the company, the buyout came at the time of unrest within the industry for all the reasons outlined above. With the likely prospect of production moving either to Stoke or overseas, there was a great risk the brand would lose the values and skills it had spent so many years nurturing. Having worked as MD for both Royal Doutlon and Minton, Hugh says having a privately owned company means a complete gain of control and allowed him to write out the red tape that came with a big corporation. “Take the American market – we used to make the ware here, ship to a Derby warehouse, ship it to Stoke, then ship it to New Jersey, and then eventually to the retailer. God forbid anything was wrong with the order – it had to come back the same way. A huge amount of work and capital tied up in stock resulted in long lead times and poor service. Thankfully now the use of the Internet means we can ship within 10 days for the US. Also, in real terms if an enquiry comes into the sales offi ce here, all they have to do is walk up one fl ight of stairs for a decision.” It was suggested Hugh steer himself to the pottery industry through this mother’s family Pearson PLC, which had a broad spectrum of companies in its portfolio including a few


potteries collected in the post-war period. Starting as a management trainee, he worked up to be put in charge of premium brands Minton and Crown Derby. As Pearson’s went into a public company it sold many of its offerings on, and the decision was made to buy out Crown Derby during the year 2000. Even during the last decade since then, the economic climate is one that has changed greatly and remains to prove increasingly challenging. With a large proportion of British industry in receivership,a market left struggling from the fi nancial crisis, bad news, cuts and a fl agging retail trade, Hugh hopes we are now at the bottom and things can improve. “Clearly those companies that can survive the


recession are going to come out of it stronger, as they gain market share. The threat from the Far East will recede, and the world economy will no doubt bounce back and there will be opportunities in the future for survivors. “It will no doubt be different, that’s why we’ve got to hang onto our existing customers and look for new ones. Although ceramics is a rather slow moving fashion, it is still a fashion none the less. We are well equipped here with a design team that notice trends and can respond creatively to them. But ‘getting through’ is the problem at the moment – as they say, “Without the short term, there is no long term.” The company responded well with a string of initiatives to drive new and further business including hosting a summer trade show at their premises this July, the new working with artists scheme, and work in interior design with custom yachts and palaces. As many other companies choose to outsource to cut costs, Royal Crown Derby believe the ‘100% Made in Derby’ aspect to their product remains a valued USP to customers both in the UK and the international market. “We have no expertise in sourcing, we deal in small volumes not large, we deal in high


The company still places a great value on handpainting expertise TABLEWARE INTERNATIONAL 35


quality which is diffi cult to achieve, we produce a product which is diffi cult to make, and we have very few imitators because it is too damn diffi cult. There isn’t anyone else doing exactly what we do to the same standard anywhere else. People have to look at their own business decision and if sourcing is the answer thats fi ne, but for us its not and in a sense it plays to our advantages because its now as USP.” He adds: “I don’t think the top end is totally immune from recessionary pressure, but is perhaps can cope with that more easily than middle England can. And again I think the secret is to push the boat out and do things that make people think. Certainly the wealthy end of the market is very wealthy and are not feeling the effects of the recession. Even in recessions, people still have money in their pocket, it is just more diffi cult to get it out of them.” Hugh is still however optimistic that a revival for ceramics is still very much on the cards. “Ceramics has been in the shade, it’s not been a hot topic, and it’s coming back into the spotlight again. I wish I could put my fi nger on it, but there is plenty still to learn. We shouldn’t sit in our factories and ignore what is going on out there.


“When we get out of the recession I think we’ll


fi nd renewed interest of those values we spoke about like craftsmanship and quality. People will spend money on acquiring their little bit of that value for themselves. If the British ceramic industry is going to survive, it has to get away from the idea of selling a cup or plate for a practical purpose. That will always be made somewhere else cheaper and will do the job. To keep manufacturing here we have to add values which they cant offer, like beauty, heritage, background and craftsmanship. These are the things you can’t get overseas and the magic that you’ll never get from a standard plain white mug or plate.”


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