Doing a Ratner
Doing a Ratner is a British business phrase referring to a chief executive or a senior person of a company who criticises the company's products or disparages the customers. The origin of the phrase is an incident in 1991 in which Gerald Ratner, founder of Ratner’s Jewellery, made a speech at the Institute of Directors when he said: “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” Because of the adverse publicity this statement attracted, Ratner was forced off the board by the investors, and the previously thriving company suffered huge losses and later dropped the Ratner name, changing it to Signet.
Other executives who have "done a Ratner"
In July 2001, David Shepherd, then brand director of the clothing chain Topman said in a trade journal "Menswear", that his customers were hooligans and “Very few of our customers have to wear suits to work. They'll be for his first interview or first court case”. Woolworths’ Gerald Corbett said in March 2002 on Woolworths’ progress at his stores said “Some city centre stores are vast open deserts with nobody there.” In October 2003, Matt Barrett, the chief executive of Barclays (owner of Barclaycard, one of Britain’s most popular credit cards) said on a parliamentary Treasury committee on credit cards, “I do not borrow on credit cards. I have four young children. I give them advice not to pile up debts on their credit cards.”
External links"Suffering from foot-in-mouth", an article in The Observer, October 19, 2003, describing several instances of company executives "doing a Ratner."
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