Letter: British products: a question of quality

Sir: I was both astonished and dismayed to read the contents of your article ('Companies yet to exploit pound's fall', 8 October) about the failure of our exporters to grab the considerable benefit of a 'devalued' pound.

Touring the Continent, one rarely sees a British-made product for sale. In this country, our store shelves and showrooms are stuffed full of items from everywhere except the UK. On our roads, the numbers of Jaguar and Rover cars seem to be (at least) equalled by BMWs, Mercs and Audis, yet on Continental roads, a Jaguar or a Rover is a depressingly rare sight.

I wonder what the sales directors of these and other British manufacturers are doing to increase their market share of export (and domestic) sales, given this golden opportunity? If no marked improvement in our manufacturers' performance is recorded over the coming months, the British people will be asking whether the problem lies, not in the price, but in the quality of our products or the quality of our salesmen, or both.

Yours faithfully,

J. KEITH MILLER

Bartley,

Hampshire

9 October