Waterford Wedgwood USA

Waterford Wedgwood USA is the U.S. subsidiary of Waterford Wedgwood, the Dublin-based maker of handcrafted crystal stemware and giftware and fine bone china giftware and tableware. The company markets and distributes these luxury products to department and specialty stores across the United States. As we recently learned from Waterford Wedgwood USA Product Manager Ross Patterson, a strong relationship with NPD is key to his company’s understanding of its competitive position and the trends that drive its business.

From his perspective, timely data on market trends makes all the difference. He uses monthly NPD data to help formulate quick responses to market activity. “Retail numbers from the register guarantee a realistic picture of our actual selling prices, including any promotional activity,” Patterson said. “NPD’s clearly defined channels of distribution and retailer listings ensure an understanding of exactly what is being reported.”

NPD information is also important in the company’s efforts to analyze recommended pricing and target growth and volume-driving segments within the industry, Patterson explained. In addition, Waterford Wedgwood USA relies on the data to track sales of specific patterns to determine pattern life cycles and understand design trends that can drive new product development.

Waterford Wedgwood USA is a company that has put NPD data to work at all levels. NPD Executive Summaries are used for industry overviews at high-level board meetings and in internal discussions, as the market share of the company’s brands “is a crucial indicator of success and competitive position,” according to Patterson. The company’s marketing and product development teams comb the information to identify opportunities and track sales of its newer crystal and bone china products. And the sales team uses it to highlight success stories to retail accounts and understand where some accounts may fall short of the national picture.

“NPD is a trustworthy source for detailed, accurate data. The client support and tools NPD provides are of the highest level. The information can be presented all the way from a top-line summary down to item-level detail, allowing for multiple uses at multiple levels within an organization,” Patterson said.

In his role as product manager, Ross Patterson looks to NPD data to help him track the market share of Waterford Wedgwood brands for presentations. He also relies on pattern- and item-level detail to generate detail for new product briefs. “The data serves as a great back-up for continuing spend and efforts in areas that are resulting in good sell-through,” he said.

Patterson said he has found NPD information and client service to be superior to other information resources. “The flexibility of the data supplied and the expertise of the NPD team is a powerful combination. Great attention is paid to the client, and our company considers NPD a valuable and long-term partner.”