Gerald Ratner - Biography

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.

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."

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:

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. 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", and Ratner himself has acquired the sobriquet "The Sultan of Bling". 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.

External links

• Gerald Ratner's online jewellery
• Telegraph article on comeback