Businesses to learn how to overcome setbacks from the man who’s been there and got the t-shirt

One man with more experience of overcoming setbacks than he’d perhaps care for is Gerald Ratner. Famed for turning the loss making jewellery chain Ratner’s into the world’s largest jewellery retailer, Gerald lost it all after a few disastrous remarks during a business dinner speech.  

Sixteen years on from the high profile gaff, Gerald is back on his feet and now runs a very successful online jewellery business — Geraldonline. Now he will be sharing the valuable lessons he learnt along the way with regional business leaders at Destination Growth 07, the East of England’s flagship business event.

“It was a horrendous thing to happen. Ratner’s was high performing and morale was very high, but after the press got hold of my quotes we were a laughing stock,” says Gerald reflecting on the major setback.

He added: “I never thought for one minute that I’d get back into selling jewellery. You think there is no coming back — but there is. There’s always a second chance. If I can come back anyone can! I hope that by sharing my experiences with delegates at Destination Growth it may help to give them the determination to carry on in the event of their own business setbacks”

Gerald will give a key note speech called ‘Overcoming Setbacks’ at Destination Growth 07, which is hosted by the East of England Development Agency and will take place this autumn. The day will feature key note speeches, masterclasses, debates and workshops with 22 top international speakers including Gü Chocolate Puds founder, James Averdieck.

Since launching the premium dessert company in 2003, James has grown and developed it into a multi-million pound business and its still growing. Yet, this continued growth is not down to expensive marketing and TV advertising campaigns, as James spends only a fraction of what
his multinational rivals spend every year on marketing. Instead, he believes that if you find the right marketing tool for your enterprise you don’t need to spend a fortune.

James said: “Marketing itself won’t solve your business problems it is part of the overall thing but not the only solution. You have to make sure you have a fantastic product that is better than anyone else’s then get people to try it. If they like it they’ll buy it. I focus our marketing efforts on holding events and getting people to taste our products and it’s been a very successful marketing tool for us.”

James will be sharing his top tips on sales and marketing, at a session called ‘Begging for Seconds’ at Destination Growth 07.

Business leaders will also have the opportunity to rub shoulders with 20 other top international business experts during the conference. These include world renowned creative thinker, Dr Edward de Bono; Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream; and award-winning motivational speaker Nigel Risner. News of other high profile speakers will be announced over the next few weeks.

Destination Growth 07 is the East of England’s biennial flagship business event and will be held on Tuesday 6 November. It is exclusively for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region and will be held at Duxford Airspace in Cambridgeshire.

It will begin with registrations from 8.30am and will culminate in the final of EEDA’s investment competition ‘running the gauntlet’, which offers entrepreneurs in the region the chance to win a share of £2 million of equity funding.

For more information or to register for the event visit www.eeda.org.uk/destinationgrowth.
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Notes to Editors

Gerald Ratner is available for a limited number of media interviews if you would be interested in taking up one of these opportunities please contact Lisa Davidson on 01223 200871.

For further information, photographs or biographies of Gerald Ratner or James Averdieck please contact:
Lisa Davidson in EEDA’s press office, tel: 01223 200871, email: lisadavidson@eeda.org.uk

About Destination Growth
Destination Growth 07 is the region’s flagship business event, hosted by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA). It is a biennial conference for leaders of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East of England. The first Destination Growth was held in 2005 was a runaway success with more than 500 delegates attending to get advice, ideas and tips from a range of business experts including Edward de Bono, Evan Davies and John Timpson.

This year’s event is set to attract up to 700 senior decision makers from the region’s fastest growing SMEs. The programme will feature three lively keynote speeches — one led by Jerry Greenfield and another by Gerald Ratner. These will be supported by a packed programme of educational master classes and topical debates led by 19 other high profile speakers, including Edward De Bono, James Averdieck, Nigel Risner and Sir Robin Young — more will be announced over the coming months. These sessions will focus on accelerating business growth and will have four themes:

. sales and marketing
. innovation
. accessing finance
. leadership

Destination growth will also showcase regional arts and have a lively networking and exhibition area for up to 50 business support organisations, offering opportunities to network with likeminded business leaders.

For more information or to register visit www.eeda.org.uk/destinationgrowth.

Businesses can also chat online on the business blog at: www.eeda.org.ouk/destinationgrowth/blog

About the East of England Development Agency
The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is the driving force behind sustainable economic regeneration in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. The vision for the East of England is to create a leading economy, founded on a world class knowledge base, creativity and enterprise to improve the quality of life for all who live and work here.  For further information visit www.eeda.org.uk