The Rise and Fall . . . and Rise Again - Softcover

Ratner, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1906465290 ISBN 13: 9781906465292

Publisher: Capstone, 2008

Synopsis

In 1991, Gerald Ratner made a landmark speech to the Institute of Directors 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."

About this title

Review:

"...[a] rollicking read" ( Financial Times, Monday 29th October 2007)

"contains lessons for us all" (Management Today, November 2007)

"self–effacing, revealing and human."  (Financial Times, Wednesday 26th November 2007)

"...it is a compelling insight into retail history and the internal workings of a behemoth, international jewelry company."  (Idex Magazine – International Diamond Exchange, January 2008)

His jewellery might have been crap but his book isn t. This slim volume of memoirs is extremely readable... (The Independent, Extra, Thu 13th March)

a case study of how retailing nous shaped a winning formula on both sides of the Atlantic. (The Oldie, April 2008)

From the Back Cover:

After over 25 years in the jewellery trade, Gerald Ratner was one of the most well-known and successful retailers of his generation. Being asked to give the keynote address at the Institute of Director's annual conference at The Royal Albert Hall should have been the crowning glory of two decades of empire building.

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Capstone
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1906465290
• ISBN 13: 9781906465292
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 390