WaterfordCrystalperformance‘notwhereitshouldbe’

The owner of Waterford Crystal has said it is needs to optimise the glassware brand to “future proof ” its competitiveness.

Nathalie Ahlstrom, CEO of Waterford Crystal owner Fiskars, made the comments during a call with investment analysts covering its results for the first quarter of the year. The Finnish group recorded net sales of €283m for the quarter.

During the call, Ahlstrom said Iittala and Waterford, two of the group’s brands, were those “we need to optimise to future-proof the competitiveness” of. She added Fiskars was actively managing that process of optimisation.

In response to questions from the Sunday Independent, a representative from Fiskars said Waterford continues to be an important part of its portfolio.

“The House of Waterford and its factory are the heart of Waterford’s crystal manufacture. However, the Waterford brand’s relative performance is currently not where it should be and that is why it’s called an ‘optimise’ brand,” she said.

The representative from Fiskars said the Finnish group was taking “several actions” to improve the profitability of Waterford.

“Last week we announced we are investing €15m to modernise our Rogaska glass factory where the volume part of the Waterford products are manufactured.

She said it was also “’improving distribution. In Dublin, we recently invested in a full renovation of our store in Brown Thomas, Grafton Street.

“We are also working on optimising our distribution in our key market, the US. And in 2023, we reopened our fully renovated store in Waterford.”

Fiskars is a provider of luxury homes, outdoor living and lifestyle products.

While large volumes of Waterford products are produced at Fiskars’ Rogaska factory in Slovenia, some pieces are still made in Waterford city.

Waterford Crystal was established in 1783. It rose to prominence, but high taxation and export duties resulted in the factory shutting its doors in the mid-1800s.

In 1947, it was re-established in the heart of Waterford City and became a subsidiary of Waterford Wedgwood plc in the 1980s.

The company closed its factory in Dungarvan in 2005, resulting in the much-publicised loss of 500 workers. It went into receivership and USbased KPS Capital Partners bought the company for €107m in 2009.

In 2015, Fiskars agreed to pay about €400m for WWRD (Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton) to KPS.