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A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

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Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#321

Post by omegaham »

WalterBright wrote: post #232
Loughla wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was absolutely floored when I started seeing advertisements for 'chocolate' diamonds a few years back, and even more floored that people I knew just HAD to have them. I had dealt with 'chocolate' diamonds for years, I currently have hundreds in my wood shop! My father works as a machinist, and brown, low-quality diamonds are their abrasive of choice for many jobs. They're (or rather, they were) super cheap because…

Just look at the mania for wearing torn jeans.

At least jeans manufacturers weren't marketing based on the unblemished workmanship of their jeans. Their typical message is "Jeans are worn by rugged, individualist people. You want to be a rugged independent person, right?" And I think that torn jeans can fit into that. Like, a farmer might rip his jeans and keep wearing them or something, so ripped jeans might make you look even more rugged and individualist.

Chocolate diamonds are a direct contradiction of regular diamond marketing. If you go to great lengths to talk about how important clarity is when justifying your diamonds' prices, it's particularly silly when you start selling the least clear diamonds possible.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#322

Post by snazz »

indigodaddy wrote: post #317
cryptozeus wrote: post #248

Kudos to the guy for bouncing back though !! “After losing everything, he toiled in misery for years — but he eventually made an improbable comeback. In 1997, he took out a £155k (US$203k) loan on his house, built up a health club business, and sold it for £3.9m (US$5.1m). He then used the profits to start an online jewelry company. (The Ratners Group rebranded as Signet in 1993; today, it is the largest diamond reta…

At the time Ratners already owned Kay and Jared... I think “destroying” the company is a bit overstated/exaggerated. The company itself came out just fine. They still own Jared and Kay, and Zales more recently.

Destroying the brand then? That seems more accurate.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#323

Post by drblast »

kuzimoto wrote: post #318
Aeolun wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so certain about that actually, I’ve certainly seen people making $20k that had more free money and recreation time than some people making $100k. Especially as regards recreation time. To be fair, making $20k was almost always a choice in those cases.

How were those people living? Are they single people in their mid 20s with no significant other or kids? Are they making enough to put some towards retirement? I guess if you're willing to sacrifice some things it could work. You're definitely not raising a family of 3-4 in a nicer neighborhood with that amount.

Not everyone considers it a sacrifice to not be married or have kids. For the people who do fewer than half of them are happy that way.

We're all pretty bad at knowing what will make us happy in advance.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#324

Post by peteretep »

ghaff wrote: post #291
mywittyname wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I eat McDonalds rather frequently for lunch because there's one nearby, a double cheeseburger is $1.89, and has 26g of protein and under 500 calories. I think they taste fine; I wouldn't pay more for a better tasting one. I'm pretty sure nearly every McDonalds customer thinks the same way. They want quick, cheap, safely prepared food that tastes good enough to eat.

I pretty much can't stand them personally--except for the fries and maybe a couple of breakfast items. But I readily admit I'm a bit of a foodie. I'm certainly not going to begrudge others who find them a good value or even, gasp, like them.

I would also identify as a foodie. But I don't always need a 12 course tasting menu, and sometimes a dollar cheeseburger with a mild and predictable taste is a good source of calories.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#325

Post by drblast »

ikeyany wrote: post #106
rifung wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some would argue that she was coerced because of the vast power difference in their respective positions. It's part of the reason you aren't supposed to have relationships with someone you manage.

Then it's not a stretch then to say all workplace romances between staff members and the people under them are coercive.

Yep. It's not a stretch at all. In the military it's strictly forbidden and there are rules in place in case two people accidentally fall in love where there's a power imbalance.

Sex/romance with a subordinate in any organization is such a bad idea for so many reasons. Possibility of coercion is one, favoritism and dissent among other subordinates is another.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#326

Post by Scown »

jdietrich wrote: post #125

Michael O'Leary being incredibly rude is a key part of Ryanair's branding. If you're paying £19 for a two hour flight, you'll always have the sneaking suspicion that the airline is skimping on maintenance. O'Leary makes it absolutely clear that they save money by treating their passengers like cattle. He carefully cultivates the image of a man who utterly despises his own customers, but is far too miserly to allow an…

This isn't really the case anymore. Can't remember when but he was thoroughly reined in a little while ago. All the shock troll PR about standing seats and paid toilets worked for a while til it didn't. They're just a cheap, no-frills airline now.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#327

Post by mattkrause »

catacombs wrote: post #273
fortran77 wrote: post #114

The modern examples cited weren't nearly as bad: - Lulumon didn't seem to be hurt by Chip Wilson. In fact, the "notoriety" made me aware they they sold men's clothes, too, and I went there and bought some great athletic wear. - Many customers appreciated Barclays' warning not to "pile up debts." That would give me a favorable opinion of a company that offers lines of credit, not a bad one.

> The modern examples cited weren't nearly as bad True. Nowadays, it only takes one tweet to absolutely tank someone's reputation, let alone lose his or her job.

Eh, a few notable counterexamples have popped up since 2016....

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#329

Post by afcapel »

kuzimoto wrote: post #318
Aeolun wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so certain about that actually, I’ve certainly seen people making $20k that had more free money and recreation time than some people making $100k. Especially as regards recreation time. To be fair, making $20k was almost always a choice in those cases.

How were those people living? Are they single people in their mid 20s with no significant other or kids? Are they making enough to put some towards retirement? I guess if you're willing to sacrifice some things it could work. You're definitely not raising a family of 3-4 in a nicer neighborhood with that amount.

The median annual household income worldwide is about 10k/year. 20k/year puts you in the 91st percentile globally for person income. So it's perfectly possible to live with that money, most people in the world do.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#330

Post by calibas »

ghaff wrote: post #257
calibas wrote: post #76

What I find most fascinating is that a multimillion dollar company was destroyed simply because the owner told the truth. Imagine if fast food CEOs were honest about the quality of their food instead of just parroting marketing bullshit.

I rarely eat at the big fast food chains--and it's usually because I have no other options. But what's the "truth" about the quality of the food? The CEO could quite honestly say that their goals are consistency, speed, food safety, and affordability. Quality? I expect the honest response would be something along the lines of 1.) Millions of customers apparently like our product and 2.) We try to deliver the best qua…

It's some of the poorest quality food you can get with a price to match, though that's highly dependent upon what you order and where you go.

It's complete garbage compared to what the CEO is eating, and while everybody knows that, the CEO will never state it publicly. The story about Ratner is a direct example of what would happen.

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