Электронная книга: Gerald Ratner «Gerald Ratner. The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again»
|
In 1991 Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an everyday speech at the Institute of Directors. Should have been. When the words«total crap» come out of his mouth in connection with a decanter and glasses set sold by his company, H. Samuel, it all turned out slightly different. The Rise and Fall…And Rise Again tells the full story, in Gerald Ratner's own words, of what lead him to that point at the IoD, the horror of what happened in the immediate aftermath, the fallout and the comeback. This is the fi rst time Gerald Ratner has given his side of the story. And what a story it is. You'll fi nd out: * How he wiped£500m off the value of his own company virtually overnight * All the details about the initial gaffe and how he compounded it by remarking that some of the earrings were «cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long» * How «doing a Ratner» has entered into the vocabulary of British business * The wilderness years sitting glued to the sofa in front of Countdown * How he has bounced back, rediscovering his entrepreneurial spark by building up a health club business and, more recently, the immensely successfulonline jewellery retailer Geraldonline.com * The story's not over yet… Издательство: "John Wiley&Sons Limited (USD)"
ISBN: 9781841128122 электронная книга Купить за 2438.98 руб и скачать на Litres |
Gerald Ratner
| Gerald Ratner | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 London, England |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Gerald Irving Ratner (born 1949, London), is a British businessman. He was formerly chief executive of the major British jewellery company Ratners Group (now the Signet Group). He achieved notoriety after making a speech in which he jokingly denigrated the company's products, which caused the company's near collapse.
Contents |
Early life and career
Gerald Ratner based his philosophy of business on his experiences as a boy in Petticoat Lane Market. He observed that "the people who shouted the loudest and appeared to give the best offers sold the most."[1]
Ratner joined the family business in 1966, and on this basis he built up an extremely successful chain of jewellers during the 1980s, of which he was chief executive. The shops shocked the formerly staid jewellery industry by displaying fluorescent orange posters advertising cut price bargains and by offering low price ranges.
The speech
Although widely regarded as "tacky", the shops and their wares were nevertheless extremely popular with the public, until Ratner made a speech at the Institute of Directors on April 23, 1991. During the speech, he commented:
| “ | We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?", I say, "because it's total crap".[2] | ” |
He compounded this by going on to remark that some of the earrings were "cheaper than an M&S prawn sandwich but probably wouldn't last as long". After the speech, the value of the Ratners' group plummeted by around £500 million, which very nearly resulted in the firm's collapse.[3] Ratner resigned in November 1992 and the group changed its name to Signet Group in September 1993.
Today, Ratner's speech is still famous in the corporate world as an example of the value of branding and image over quality. Such gaffes are now sometimes called "Doing a Ratner"[4], and Ratner himself has acquired the sobriquet "The Sultan of Bling".[5] Ratner has said in his defence that it was a private function which he did not expect to be reported, and that his remarks were not meant to be taken seriously.
After Ratners
Following an unsuccessful attempt to become a jewellery consultant in France during the mid 1990s, he set up a health club in Henley-on-Thames in 1996, which was sold for £3.9m in 2001. Ratner now runs, in collaboration with SB&T International Ltd, an export manufacturing company based in India and the online jewellery business Gerald Online.[6]
References
- ^ The Sunday Times, 15 May 1988
- ^ "'Doing a Ratner' and other famous gaffes". The Daily Telegraph (London). 22 December 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1573380/Doing-a-Ratner-and-other-famous-gaffes.html.
- ^ "It still hurts 16 years on". London: Times Online. October 21, 2007. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article2701311.ece. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
- ^ "'Doing a Ratner' and other famous gaffes". The Daily Telegraph (London). 22 December 2007. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1573380/Doing-a-Ratner-and-other-famous-gaffes.html.
- ^ http://www.businesscornwall.co.uk/news-categories/awards/ratner-to-address-business-awards-123
- ^ Wilson, Bill (29 March 2005). "Ratner prepares his return to the lions' den". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4314873.stm.
External links
- English businesspeople
- People from London
- 1949 births
- Living people
Источник: Gerald Ratner
Другие книги схожей тематики:
| Автор | Книга | Описание | Год | Цена | Тип книги |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Ratner | Gerald Ratner. The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again | In 1991 Gerald Ratner was booked to make what should have been an everyday speech at the Institute of Directors. Should have been. When the words«total crap» come out of his mouth in connection… — John Wiley&Sons Limited (USD), электронная книга Подробнее... | 2438.98 | электронная книга |
См. также в других словарях:
performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical. The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains … Universalium
literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… … Universalium
List of incidents famously considered great blunders — A blunder is a spectacularly bad or embarrassing mistake a bad decision with a disastrous result. This is a list of what are widely considered to be major, historically significant blunders.To be included in this list an incident must meet two… … Wikipedia
Che Guevara — Che redirects here. For other uses, see Che (disambiguation). Che Guevara … Wikipedia
George W. Bush — This article is about the 43rd U.S. president. For his father, the 41st U.S. president, see George H. W. Bush. For other persons of the same name, see George Bush. George W. Bush … Wikipedia
Assata Shakur — Assata Olugbala Shakur (born July 16, 1947[1] as JoAnne Deborah Byron, married name Chesimard[2]) is an African American activist and escaped convict who was a member of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and Black Liberation Army (BLA). Between 1971… … Wikipedia
