‘WE’RE STANDING ON OUR OWN NOW’
As Brexit begins, U.K. firms target international markets
Tim Barlow pushes a green stamp onto the edge of an unfinished plate, leaving behind the words “Made in England.”
It’s still a piece of unglazed grey clay, a far cry from the gleaming decorated disc of Wedgwood Jasperware it will become, but Barlow and his employers are betting those words will be a selling point as Britain begins the process of leaving the European Union.
“It takes on a greater importance now we’re coming out of Europe,” he says, matter-of-factly. “We’re standing on our own now.”
It’s not just Wedgwood, the 258-year-old firm that has supplied tableware to Britain’s royal family, the Kremlin and the White House. Companies ranging from luxury clothes maker Burberry to Bee Good, a small business making products from British bees, are hoping to make virtue out of necessity by promoting British identity as a selling point.
For some, like Wedgwood, it can mean appealing to foreign visions of a stereotypical Britain: the traditional, classy culture of high tea and garden parties. For others, it’s a bet that consumers around the world recognize the quality of British workmanship and are willing to pay a premium for it.
The question is important for British business if, as expected, Brexit leads to tariffs and other barriers to trade with the EU, the country’s biggest export market. Exports of goods and services account for about 27 per cent of the British economy with almost half of exports going to the EU.
The government is trying to bolster overseas trade with a fiveyear program designed to help 100,000 new exporters sell goods and services abroad. The Exporting is Great website lists potential buyers including online retailers in China looking for U.K. jewelry and housewares, a Japanese company interested in British raincoats and Wellington boots and a Turkish importer seeking British cosmetics.
Leaning into the uncertainty, Wedgwood has embarked on a sweeping revamp of its offerings to broaden its international market. Building on a heritage of making granny’s china, Wedgwood is planning to capture the image of crumbling castles, Downton Abbey and Will and Kate as it expands to a younger audience.
Wedgwood is an “unpolished jewel to undust,” said Ulrik Garde Due, president of the Fiskars Corp. unit that owns the company. Helsinki-based Fiskars bought Wedgwood — founded in what is now Stoke-on-Trent, England, in 1759 — two years ago.
“I think Britain will sell more than ever” after Brexit, he said. “It’s turning into a positive. We are turning it into an opportunity.”
There’s value for a company in being associated with Britain. The country is generally perceived as a “quality supplier,” which means that customers in new and emerging markets are willing to pay as much as seven per cent more for British products, according to a 2014 study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research for London-based Barclays bank.
“There are bigger premiums to be had when products are marketed as ‘Made in Britain,’” the report said.
Like Wedgwood, Burberry turned up the volume on heritage in its latest show last month in London. The company, known for trench coats to fend off the British weather and traditional plaid linings, used the curving sculptures of the late British artist Henry Moore as a backdrop for its show with fashionistas receiving invitations etched on stones recalling his work.
The question is whether Wedgwood and other companies that bank on being British will find their names tarnished by the turmoil of Brexit. In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, there were reports of continental Europeans shunning British goods. Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover, for example, said last summer some European customers were explicitly avoiding their vehicles after the Brexit vote.
But the long term is another matter. Branding expert Richard Cope, of research firm Mintel, says Brexit can be positive, particularly in trade outside Europe.
“It’s not like the rest of Europe,” Cope said. “It’s another thing that makes it different. I don’t think that’s a bad thing if you are exporting to Japan or the United States.”
In a period of international flux, people will retreat to brands with status, said Simi Nijher, an associate strategist at brand consultant Siegel+Gale.
I think Britain will sell more than ever (after Brexit). It’s turning into a positive. We are turning it into an opportunity.