Ratner "Planning to Buy Back Signet's UK Stores"
June 08, 25
(IDEX Online) - Gerald Ratner is reportedly planning to buy back the UK-based H. Samuel and Ernest Jones brands from Signet.
He famously wiped $500m off the value of Ratners Group in 1991 when he described a cut glass sherry decanter as "total cr*p".
The ensuing public relations crisis led to his departure and a radical rebranding of the company in 1993 as Signet Group, which is now the world's biggest retailer of diamond jewelry.
Ratner, aged 75, is now in talks to buy the brands back, according to a report in the Daily Mail.
H. Samuel has over 300 stores and Ernest Jones has over 180, according to the Signet website.
Ratner is being backed by investors including British banks, the Daily Mail says, and wants to be chairman if a deal succeeds. Signet said: "We are not engaged in discussions related to a sale of our U.K. brands," but stopped short of an outright denial.
Ratner's demise followed his comments at an Institute of Directors conference in London. He said: "People say: 'How can you sell this for such a low price?' I say: 'because it's total cr*p'."
In the same speech he observed that a pair of Ratners' earrings was "cheaper than a prawn sandwich from Marks & Spencer, but I have to say the sandwich will probably last longer than the earrings".