Once a thriving British high-street jewellers in the 1980s, Gerald Ratner made the mistake of summarizing his cost-efficiency at a presentation with the Institute of Directors: Doing a Ratner is a British business phrase referring to a chief executive or a senior person of a company who criticises the companys products or disparages the customers. ...
We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say "How can you sell this for such a low price?" I say, "because it's total crap"
The next day the tabloid media were in a frenzy over the comment, Ratner was forced out by the board of directors and his jewellery empire was renamed to the less-conspicuous "Signet".
Since then Gerald Ratner has scaled down his enterprises to include a health club and an on-line jewellery store collaboration. Even today, Ratner's gaffe is still famous in the British Retail industry as an example on the value of branding and image over quality.
But Ratner became a household name last fall, when he unveiled his master plan not only to rebuild a shabby section of Brooklyn but also to reinvigorate the entire borough.
Although Ratner, who rarely speaks to the press and declined to be interviewed for this story, is a member of the Cleveland family that built the development firm Forest City Enterprises into a $1 billion publicly traded company, he never planned to work in real estate.
Ratner's confidence in the outcome of his Atlantic Yards proposal is evident in his hardball pursuit of the basketball franchise.
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