Well, I can't resist commenting on a Hawk thread. I've always liked the Hawk, although, I'm very aware of all its short-comings. I think you're right in saying the Hawk was built down to a price, but Webley compromised in the wrong areas. The rifle had lovely bluing, as you say, it was really well presented in its packaging, the sights were micro adjustable and it had an automatic trigger safety; on the face of it, The Hawk had all the ingredients for a great sporting air rifle, unfortunately some of the components, materials and manufacturing procedures seem to have been lacking.
Was the Hawk made on the back of a drop in company profits? Did it cause a drop off in profits? I don't know, but with the number of times my own Hawk MkII went back to the factory, and the number of broken rear sights and cracked fore sights I've experienced, I'm pretty sure the Hawk was responsible for some loss of reputation.
The reason my dad bought me a Webley for my 11th birthday was the reputation the company had for workmanship and quality. When the rifle broke within 18 months of buying it (trigger housing weld), he was sorely disappointed, and remarked on it none too politely.