Like a man with a broken umbrella trying to hail a cab in a downpour, the maker of the famous black London taxi is clinging to its last shreds of hope. Last week Manganese Bronzeannounced it was no longer a going concern and intended to appoint administrators.
It might be premature to assume the small UK-based company has now reached a dead end, because intense talks about its future are ongoing. But, whether or not the manufacturer survives in some form, it has secured its place in management textbooks. Over the past decade the cab maker has been in a head-on collision with most of the strategic challenges a company can encounter: globalisation, regulatory change, competitive pressure, outsourcing demands. There are lessons in this for many larger companies.
Passengers might value London cabs for their opulent legroom or the infamous garrulousness of their drivers, but the cars’ maker really has only two assets: regulation and a beloved brand. The design of the cars – sufficiently well known globally to merit a starring role in the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony – is dictated in part by historically restrictive rules about the tight turning circle for cabs operating in the UK capital’s narrow streets.