Aero Leather Clothing trial update

[Otter]

Somewhere and somehow he has become very disaffected with his part in the Company as others have said. After all, he owned shares and had a vested interest in the well being and success of said Company. Perhaps some of it came from Kens family coming into more prominent roles within the organisation, but what he was doing seems pretty brazen.

 

[Monitor]

Collection my *** - why taking jackets from the company when you're married to a woman that knows how to make leather jackets.

 

[wdw]

My reading is that Calders wouldn't have returned to the business if the finances hadn't deteriorated drastically due to the mismanagement and theft, so their return can't be used as any attempt at justification for what happened.

 

[Bunyip]

My reading is that Calders wouldn't have returned to the business if the finances hadn't deteriorated drastically due to the mismanagement and theft, so their return can't be used as any attempt at justification for what happened.

I agree. They only returned as a direct result of the fraud etc...its quite scary how much, and for how long all this went on for. Pretty hard to cop for KC after spending decades building it up....WL clearly became quite entitled and quite simply seems to have lost the plot. Like Jack Torrence getting left at The Overlook Hotel for one winter too many....

 

[Feraud]

My reading is that Calders wouldn't have returned to the business if the finances hadn't deteriorated drastically due to the mismanagement and theft, so their return can't be used as any attempt at justification for what happened.

That's how it reads to me too.

 

[Big J]

Collection my *** - why taking jackets from the company when you're married to a woman that knows how to make leather jackets.

Dude, remember he fired her so maybe she don't want to make him no more jackets?

 

[Big J]

I agree. They only returned as a direct result of the fraud etc...its quite scary how much, and for how long all this went on for. Pretty hard to cop for KC after spending decades building it up....WL clearly became quite entitled and quite simply seems to have lost the plot. Like Jack Torrence getting left at The Overlook Hotel for one winter too many....

Or leaving me in charge of a brewery.

 

[Bunyip]

Or leaving me in charge of a brewery.

Yep....I struggle sometimes at night with the keys to the pub...

 

[Capesofwrath]

My surmise from reading all this is that WL was taken on as a youngster and taken under KC’s wing as a trainee and later a junior partner, and the relationship was fine when they all worked together. But that when he was appointed to run the business as MD for the Calders he felt he was not being rewarded sufficiently for the work he was doing, and that they were getting the benefit of his very long hours without in his view being willing to pay him enough for all his work. I suspect he did do a lot more work than he was paid for too, and may well have felt taken advantage of. That is why the workforce were on his side I expect because they saw how long he worked and listened when he unloaded his grievances on to them. He would have exaggerated his position in the company to them because the truth was probably that he was simply a paid employee as they were with a fairly small shareholding, and benefited little from the profits the business made. He was also probably out of his depth and feeling the pressure, and was perhaps not up to the job in the first place.

Anyone who has ever run a small business will know that you have to work very hard with long hours to make it a success. But that you will not mind doing it because it is your business, and you benefit from growing it. It’s when people want to take a back seat that the trouble starts. Because the person paid to run it for the owner will not be as committed or as invested in the business as the owner, and can’t be expected to work as hard and as long as an owner would. Unless proper and agreed incentives are in place. Which perhaps they were not in this case. The only way you can retire from any small business is to either sell it, or make the person running it your full partner with a half share in profits and in the benefits of growing the business. But even that sort of arrangement can cause problems because the active partner can come to resent the retired one, and can forget that he set up the business in the first place, and can feel he is keeping him by the sweat of his brow.

Neither of those things happened here anyway, and as far as I can see WL was simply a junior partner and in effect an employee. But with a lot of responsibility, and he clearly felt or convinced himself that he was owed and was not getting so he took.

 

[Otter]

Police Scotland struggle to cope with the volume of evidence in the Aero Trial !

 

[Bunyip]

My surmise from reading all this is that WL was taken on as a youngster and taken under KC’s wing as a trainee and later a junior partner, and the relationship was fine when they all worked together. But that when he was appointed to run the business as MD for the Calders he felt he was not being rewarded sufficiently for the work he was doing, and that they were getting the benefit of his very long hours without in his view being willing to pay him enough for all his work. I suspect he did do a lot more work than he was paid for too, and may well have felt taken advantage of. That is why the workforce were on his side I expect because they saw how long he worked and listened when he unloaded his grievances on to them. He would have exaggerated his position in the company to them because the truth was probably that he was simply a paid employee as they were with a fairly small shareholding, and benefited little from the profits the business made. He was also probably out of his depth and feeling the pressure, and was perhaps not up to the job in the first place.

Anyone who has ever run a small business will know that you have to work very hard with long hours to make it a success. But that you will not mind doing it because it is your business, and you benefit from growing it. It’s when people want to take a back seat that the trouble starts. Because the person paid to run it for the owner will not be as committed or as invested in the business as the owner, and can’t be expected to work as hard and as long as an owner would. Unless proper and agreed incentives are in place. Which perhaps they were not in this case. The only way you can retire from any small business is to either sell it, or make the person running it your full partner with a half share in profits and in the benefits of growing the business. But even that sort of arrangement can cause problems because the active partner can come to resent the retired one, and can forget that he set up the business in the first place, and can feel he is keeping him by the sweat of his brow.

Neither of those things happened here anyway, and as far as I can see WL was simply a junior partner and in effect an employee. But with a lot of responsibility, and he clearly felt or convinced himself that he was owed and was not getting so he took.

Very succinct. Small business is tough. Very challenging putting in long hours for owners who aren't there working there beside you. People often lose sight of the fact that you wouldn't have the job in the first instance if not for them. In this case, learning a very niche skill working for one of the premier companies in their field, is a fairly priceless privelage. The sad thing now is that after a few decades of hard yards and building skills, knowledge, and valuable networks it's all for naught. Reputation is everything, perception is reality...I would imagine it will be very difficult , if not impossible for WL to rebuild from here....
I'm wondering what, if any impact this is having on Alexander Leathers?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I keep going back to what seems like the harsh reality that WL apparently began his improprieties as soon as the Calders left the building even after honoring him with the responsibilities of MD. We can attempt to psychoanalyze as to 'why' he felt the need to put the company in further jeopardy with every bump in the road, but what seems a glaring fact to me, is a resentment due to guilt of his own actions with lame excuses to continually rationalize, to himself, that it was only payment due. Setting himself free from blame with absurd statements of "The customer still got a nice jacket even though it was storse instead of horse"..."I took because I was owed",etc. When finally confronted on various fronts, of course he then tried to transfer some blame directly on the Calder's interference. I have little sympathy with 'Well WL always treated me right' when behind the scenes he was determined to upset people's lives and run with the greedy spoils of his discontent.
HD

 

[pawineguy]

I keep going back to what seems like the harsh reality that WL apparently began his improprieties as soon as the Calders left the building even after honoring him with the responsibilities of MD. We can attempt to psychoanalyze as to 'why' he felt the need to put the company in further jeopardy with every bump in the road, but what seems a glaring fact to me, is a resentment due to guilt of his own actions with lame excuses to continually rationalize, to himself, that it was only payment due. Setting himself free from blame with absurd statements of "The customer still got a nice jacket even though it was storse instead of horse"..."I took because I was owed",etc. When finally confronted on various fronts, of course he then tried to transfer some blame directly on the Calder's interference. I have little sympathy with 'Well WL always treated me right' when behind the scenes he was determined to upset people's lives and run with the greedy spoils of his discontent.
HD

This is an extremely important point. While I agree that Will had some really strong resentment, to me, it pre-dates him becoming MD, because as HD notes, the evidence shows he started stealing very soon after becoming MD. He was handed the keys to the candy store and started helping himself.

 

[Big J]

My surmise from reading all this is that WL was taken on as a youngster and taken under KC’s wing as a trainee and later a junior partner, and the relationship was fine when they all worked together. But that when he was appointed to run the business as MD for the Calders he felt he was not being rewarded sufficiently for the work he was doing, and that they were getting the benefit of his very long hours without in his view being willing to pay him enough for all his work. I suspect he did do a lot more work than he was paid for too, and may well have felt taken advantage of. That is why the workforce were on his side I expect because they saw how long he worked and listened when he unloaded his grievances on to them. He would have exaggerated his position in the company to them because the truth was probably that he was simply a paid employee as they were with a fairly small shareholding, and benefited little from the profits the business made. He was also probably out of his depth and feeling the pressure, and was perhaps not up to the job in the first place.

Anyone who has ever run a small business will know that you have to work very hard with long hours to make it a success. But that you will not mind doing it because it is your business, and you benefit from growing it. It’s when people want to take a back seat that the trouble starts. Because the person paid to run it for the owner will not be as committed or as invested in the business as the owner, and can’t be expected to work as hard and as long as an owner would. Unless proper and agreed incentives are in place. Which perhaps they were not in this case. The only way you can retire from any small business is to either sell it, or make the person running it your full partner with a half share in profits and in the benefits of growing the business. But even that sort of arrangement can cause problems because the active partner can come to resent the retired one, and can forget that he set up the business in the first place, and can feel he is keeping him by the sweat of his brow.

Neither of those things happened here anyway, and as far as I can see WL was simply a junior partner and in effect an employee. But with a lot of responsibility, and he clearly felt or convinced himself that he was owed and was not getting so he took.

Nah, I'm sorry, that's just apologism to me.
Will Lauder committed crimes. End of story.

Yeah, sure, there's a million and one reasons why he might have decided to go down that path, and I don't care what they are, because I make choices not to commit crimes.
Dissatisfaction with pay and conditions? He should've quit and got another job if he didn't like it, not start stealing from customers and the company.

Stop making excuses for him, he's got a paid lawyer for that.

 

[AdeeC]

Nah, I'm sorry, that's just apologism to me.
Will Lauder committed crimes. End of story.

Yeah, sure, there's a million and one reasons why he might have decided to go down that path, and I don't care what they are, because I make choices not to commit crimes.
Dissatisfaction with pay and conditions? He should've quit and got another job if he didn't like it, not start stealing from customers and the company.

Stop making excuses for him, he's got a paid lawyer for that.

He was going to leave Aero high and dry anyway even if he wasn't caught out at the last minute. At no stage in Sloan's retelling of the evidence was it stated he was underpaid or denied a raise.

 

[Bunyip]

Good point Big J.......there doesn't seem to be a great deal of remorse either.

 

[jlanderson]

Good point Big J.......there doesn't seem to be a great deal of remorse either.

Perhaps on 29 May?

 

[Sloan1874]

He was going to leave Aero high and dry anyway even if he wasn't caught out at the last minute. At no stage in Sloan's retelling of the evidence was it stated he was underpaid or denied a raise.

He was on an MD's salary, he didn't want for a penny. And as far as I know the overtime thing is about as credible as 'I earned them!'.

 

[Capesofwrath]

This is an extremely important point. While I agree that Will had some really strong resentment, to me, it pre-dates him becoming MD, because as HD notes, the evidence shows he started stealing very soon after becoming MD. He was handed the keys to the candy store and started helping himself.

From my reading of the evidence he started selling some stuff on eBay at around the time he took over which seems to have been patches mostly. But it was only later in 2007 that it was established that he started stealing expensive items. His relationship with the artist DD is quite interesting in that regard since they seemed to have had many dealings, and he testified that he gave items to WL which he then sold.

The charge sheet will alway stipulate a timescale when alleged offences took place and will always be broad to cover eventualities. So the date of 2004 is really the date WL took over, not necessary when any offences took place. In fact WL only started helping himself to jackets a few years later.

 

[Sloan1874]

He took an unaged VLC jacket while Ken was in the building, as I noted in my narrative. Also other tagged jackets he took date from 2003.