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Product Description
Product Description
After over 25 years in the jewellery trade, Gerald Ratner was one of the most well–known and successful retailers of his generation. He had built up a highly profitable, multi–million pound international business, including household names like Ratners, H Samuel, Ernest Jones, Watches of Switzerland, as well as over one thousand stores in the US. Being asked to give the keynote address at the Institute of Directors′ annual conference at The Royal Albert Hall was a great honour and should have been the crowning glory on two decades of empire building.
Gerald′s speech was seized upon by the media after he included jokes about the quality of some of the shops′ products. But the far–reaching impact that these jokes would have no one could have predicted.
"Even though I had once had my name above hundreds of shops up and down the country, it had become more famous as a byword for crap. It took several years to realise just what an impact the speech had had on every aspect of my life."
Press coverage of hardback version:
"... a rollicking good read"
—Michael Skapinker, The FT
"Most business autobiographies are so overlaid with ghost–writerly blandness that the character of the subject is lost. Mr Ratner had help with this one, but fortunately he is still there: obsessive, funny and a bit of a scoundrel – the last mitigated by how well he knows it."
—The FT
"self–effacing, revealing and human"
—Luke Johnson, FT Business Life
"A few ill–chosen words to a well–heeled audience 16 years ago reduced Britain′s biggest jeweller to poverty. Now he reveals how he bounced back"
—Jewish Chronicle
"...contains lessons for us all"
—Management Today
"...worth its weight in gold"
—The Independent
Amazon reviews
"Everyone knows the story of Gerald′s rise and fall – what an amazing story and well worth reading.... I couldn′t put it down, totally gripping and inspiring stuff, you really couldn′t see this coming from such an energetic, passionate man"
"I have read many bio′s from business leaders and most are boring ′how to get rich′ or ′let me tell you a long list of not very interesting stories with all the good bits missed out′. Gerald′s book is very different it is a great read, I could not put it down"
"Sobering and enlightening at the same time. A great read and a morality tale of our time."
From the Back Cover
But his speech was seized upon the media after he joked about the quality of his products, including a remark that a Ratner′s sherry decanter was so cheap because it was "crap". No one could have predicted the far–reaching impact these jokes would have.
Set against the high–rolling excesses of business in ′80s Britain, The Rise and Fall...and Rise Again is a barnstorming tale of personal redemption through sheer grit, as told by one of Britain′s sharpest and most successful business men: Gerald Ratner.
"His Jewellery might have been ′crap′ but his book isn′t "
—The Independent
"...[a] rollicking read."
—Financial Times
"...contains lessons for us all"
—Management Today
"Like Alan Sugar and Laurie Barratt, Ratner is one of that band of businessmen who made their names by providing ordinary people with items they thought only the rich could afford."
—Richard Northedge, City A.M.
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Customer Reviews
He took his family firm of high street jewellers into the retail big league. Starting in the family firm at the age of 15 as a shop assistant he rose to MD of a 130 shop empire at age 30. He then he went on to acquire his much larger high street rivals, H Samuel and Ernest Jones.
There is no doubt that during those years Gerald Ratner had a big following. However, I think there were also a lot of people who wanted to see his downfall (and as we all know, unfortunately they finally got it.) He admits himself that he is flash. I should say, not an admirable quality in my mind. He spent his early years competing with his friends Michael Green and Charles Saatchi buying £1000 Saville Row suits at a time before power dressing existed. There are some hilarious accounts of this time, like when he had a bet with Saatchi to see who could drive home fastest from Central London to St John's Wood - in reverse! And it was in a RR Corniche. I found it quite amusing that even as FTSE bosses the three of them used to meet in the evenings in Gerald's parents basement to play snooker. They even had their food delivered through the window so as not to disturb the parents.
He also describes how the family members were always fighting so much they were unable to address each other directly in meetings and had to talk through Mr Hussein, the long standing company accountant.
I like the bit also where he thinks he needs to buy a helicopter and so goes out to look at one. He starts looking at the $500k one, then gets tempted by a mid-range one but then he is allowed to climb into a $2.5m Sikorsky and, using the justification that he can have meetings in it, decides on the spot that he has to have that one. The amusing thing is that he then spends so much time picking everyone up and dropping them off that he says he could have got to where he was going quicker by train.
There are some touching moments such as when his wife says she wants a divorce and kicks him out of the family home. He honestly admits that he was incapable of doing anything for himself during his single life in a friend's dingy flat.
The account of his downfall is also touching and sad. Despite the fact that he is certainly never going to starve you can't help but feel for him and the family. There are also many other sad bits along the way but you will have to read those...
This book is a good read. It is educational and entertaining. It takes you back to how life and business were in part of London in the 60s, 70s and 80s. I liked it so much that I could not put it down and read it in a single afternoon sitting.
Totally recommend. For £5 extra though I'd be tempted to buy the hardback as this is a book I will keep and one day read again.
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