Episode 5: Doing a Ratner

A new analysis of the extraordinary story of how a speech sparked the downfall of Gerald Ratner and the company he led, Ratners Group, at the time the largest jewellery retailer in the world. After describing one of his products as “crap” in 1991, Ratner’s name is now linked with all sorts of corporate and political gaffes. “Doing a Ratner” is used to describe anyone who makes ill-judged and unnecessary comments that inflict damage on their brand or products. But the story of what happened after the speech for Ratner and his company is more complicated than that. In this episode of Business Studies, Ratner discusses why he made the joke, the turmoil in his life after, and what lessons we should take from what happened, more than 30 years on…