Going to the wall

Somerbury Compounds Ltd.is a company in the rubber industry. In the past it has been, at least regionally, in the “top twenty” of its industry—its chairman or managing director has been a power in the land, and while the company has not considered itself a giant‐killer, it has rubbed shoulders comfortably with the giants. In this case study we shall see a picture of relative rather than absolute decline. We may ponder upon the future of a business whose short‐term prospects enable it to have confidence in its day‐to‐day activities, but whose longer‐term prospects have probably not been sufficiently thought about in the past and certainly do not make for comfort if considered now. This situation is one which must concern any company in the top twenty of its industry if the signs are that the size and significance of the leaders are growing while those lower down the league are falling behind.