The British are supposed to be famous for laughing at themselves.
英国人因善于自嘲而出名。
But even their sense of humour has a limit, as the British retailer Gerald Ratner found out to his cost.
然而这种自嘲也是有限制的，英国零售商杰拉尔德·拉特纳花了很大的代价才弄明白这一点。
When Ratner took over his father's chain of 130 jewelry shops in 1984, he introduced a very clear company policy.
1984年，杰拉尔德·拉特纳从他父亲手里继承130家珠宝店的产业链时，他推出了一条非常简洁的营销策略。
He decided that his shops should sell down market products at the lowest possible prices.
他决定所有的商铺都以市场最低价格销售商品。
It was a great success.
他获得了巨大的成功。
The British public loved his cheap gold earrings and his tasteless silver ornaments.
英国民众十分喜欢那些便宜的黄金耳环和毫无品位的银饰。
By 1991, Ratner's company had 2 400 shops and it was worth over 680 million pounds.
到了1991年，拉特纳的公司拥有2400家商铺，总价值超过了6.8亿英镑。
But in April of that year, Gerald Ratner made a big mistake.
但同年四月，杰拉尔德·拉特纳犯了一个巨大的错误。
At a big meeting of top British business people, he suited up and explained the secret of his success.
在英国顶级商务人士的一次盛大的会议上，他穿的西装革履，并解释了自己成功的秘密。
"People say how can we sell our goods for such a low price?"
"人们问为什么我们能够用如此低的价格销售商品？"
"I say because they are absolute rubbish."
"我说因为这些东西都是垃圾。"
His audience roared with laughter.
他的观众爆发了一阵狂笑。
But the British newspapers and the British public were not so amused.
但英国媒体和民众并不觉得好笑。
People felt insulted and stayed away from Ratner's shops.
人们觉得被冒犯，从而不再光临拉特纳的店铺。
Sales fell and six months after his speech, Ratner's share price had fallen by 42%.
销售额节节下降，在演讲之后6个月，拉特纳的股票价格暴跌42%。
The following year, things got worse and Gerald Ratner was forced to resign.
接下来这一年，事情变得更加糟糕，杰拉尔德·拉特纳不得不引咎辞职。
By the end of 1992, he lost his company, his career and his house.
1992年底，他失去了自己的公司、事业和房子。
Even worse, 25,000 of his employees had lost their jobs.
更糟的是，他的两万五千名员工也失去了工作。
It had been a very expensive joke.
这是一个代价沉重的玩笑。