A POPULAR British kitchenware brand is fighting to survive after soaring costs hit hard — leaving families who’ve worked there for generations heartbroken.
Dunoon Mugs, based in Staffordshire, has been making fine mugs for 50 years.
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But today, the company is battling to stay afloat, axing 20 per cent of its workforce and slashing staff hours as energy bills skyrocket to six times what they were just three years ago.
Sharon Yates, who has worked at the pottery for over 30 years, said she: “would not be able to cope” if the factory shut its doors.
“It’s my life,” Sharon said.
“I just love putting the handles on the mugs. It’s hard work, but it’s therapeutic. I’m proud to work here — it’s in my blood, she told the BBC.
Four generations of Sharon’s family have worked at Dunoon, including her retired mother Irene, daughter-in-law Leian, and granddaughter Madi.
Alan Smith, the firm’s director, said the company was being “bombarded by all sides” — not only from energy costs but also the rise in the minimum wage and employers’ national insurance.
This year alone, three Staffordshire potteries have already closed.
Smith admitted it’s “entirely possible” Dunoon could be next.
On Wednesday, Stoke-on-Trent MPs, the GMB trade union, and Ceramics UK will meet Industry Minister Sarah Jones to call for emergency help to save the potteries.
The ceramics sector, one of the UK’s most energy-intensive industries, is pleading for government support to cover what it calls “crippling” energy bills and to temporarily suspend carbon emissions penalties.
Last month, historic Moorcroft Pottery shut its doors after over 100 years in business — another blow to the once-booming Stoke-on-Trent ceramics scene.
Irene, Sharon’s 81-year-old mum, remembers when the city was “buzzing” with over 45,000 people working in ceramics.
She called it “heartbreaking” to think Dunoon might close too. “I hope the government steps in to help us,” Irene said.
Last week, Labour MP Gareth Snell told Parliament the industry faced collapse, slamming the government’s response to the crisis.
But Smith is doubtful about the future. “I don’t think they behave as if they’re interested in traditional industries,” he said.
In a statement, the Department for Business and Trade said: “Ministers continue to engage closely with the ceramics sector to understand the challenges and provide support, ensuring the industry is globally competitive as part of our Plan for Change.”
The Sun has reached out for comment.
RETAIL PAIN IN 2025
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury’s hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
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