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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
* 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 successful online
jewellery retailer Geraldonline.com
* The story's not over yet...
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
* 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 successful online
jewellery retailer Geraldonline.com
* The story's not over yet...
268 pages, Hardcover
First published December 14, 2007
73 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 26, 2014
A great book about the rise, downfall and rise again of the jeweler Gerald Ratner. It is an extremely inspirational book especially if you are in business (and even more if you are in the jewelry industry as I am).
Even if you are not in business it is a great inspirational autobiography to read.
Even if you are not in business it is a great inspirational autobiography to read.
August 11, 2019
I’m so glad Gerald Ratner wrote this book. When I was at school in the 90s I bought my first Casio digital watch there are many subsequent ones throughout my teens. I just couldn’t understand how things turned so badly for the company after reading the news about them supposedly selling “crap”.
After listening to the audiobook it all makes sense. The fake news media once again twisted the words delivered in a speech. Thankfully today I don’t think this would happen because there is so much distrust in the lamestream media that is thankfully dying very rapidly due to the Internet.
After listening to the audiobook it all makes sense. The fake news media once again twisted the words delivered in a speech. Thankfully today I don’t think this would happen because there is so much distrust in the lamestream media that is thankfully dying very rapidly due to the Internet.
December 3, 2022
Loved this. Incredible story that I wasn’t aware of. Amazing how part facts become truth and how much more there is to the actual story. An incredible fall story…. And the power of the media….
Happy that he made it again and very happy that he learnt what actually makes folk happy
Happy that he made it again and very happy that he learnt what actually makes folk happy
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews