Gerald Ratner is a successful businessman and motivational speaker. He was formerly chief executive of the popular British jewellery company, Ratners Group. The chain provided discount jewellery that proved extremely popular with the British public. Other companies in the group included H Samuel, Zales and Watches of Switzerland
Based on his own experiences as a child on Petticoat Lane’s market in London, the Ratner’s company ethos was to offer the very best jewellery deals. The plan worked with the firm developing from a family business with a few stores to an international business turning over £120m via nearly 2,500 outlets, including 1,000 in the USA.
If nothing else, the impact of Gerald Ratner’s ill-advised speech in 1991 underlined the impact that words can have on business markets. His company value sunk by around £500m virtually overnight – literally the day after announcing profits of £120m – when he said its stores could sell items for such low prices because they were “total crap”. Singling out gold earrings sold for 99p in Ratner’s stores, he said that while someone had pointed out they were cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks Spencers, Gerald said the sandwich “would probably last longer than the earrings”.
In 1996, Gerald showed considerable resilience when he returned to business management setting up a health club in Oxfordshire which was sold 6 years later for an impressive £3.9m. Following his success, in 2008, Gerald shared his own account of what happened to the Ratner Group publishing a highly acclaimed book, The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again. In it, he recounts the impact of what happened and his subsequent return to glory as a successful businessman.
Now an internationally-renowned speaker, Gerald was voted one of the Top 10 Best Keynote Speakers by Global News. In his speeches, he recounts his experiences to audiences worldwide; with his head held high, he explains how someone can fail and yet manage to turn things around and succeed again. He inspires audiences with tales of putting the bad times behind him and moving on to become a respected and extremely effective business person.
