ABSTRACT
Kendal Accessories was a division of a large firm making a wide range of capital goods. Kendal itself specialised in producing a component sold mainly outside the parent group. Between 1959-60 and 1965-66 the home sales of the industry rose by 74%. In some cases, the prices quoted by firms from Eastern Europe and Japan were less than half those in the UK. Kendal did not seek any extra market information before taking its decisions after devaluation. Kendal had only limited information about the effect of devaluation on its costs. There was considerable uncertainty in the firm about how far devaluation had increased the costs either of materials or of labour in the period up to March 1968, when all standard costs were reviewed, as was done annually. The results of the devaluation decisions were disappointing for the industry, but especially for Kendal Accessories.
