De Beers Expanding Forevermark to Singapore, the Caribbean & Mexico

We publish courtesy of  IDEX online

De Beers is taking its Forevermark brand to Singapore, selected islands in the Caribbean, Mexico and India before the end of 2010, the company announced Wednesday. The brand had more than $150 million in retail sales in the last 18 months and is available in 294 stores across Asia.

Forevermark is a brand that De Beers developed on a small scale a number of years ago and that has been recently expanded. Diamond from De Beers are earmarked for the brand and sold to participating Sightholders that polish the goods under strict guidance. The diamonds are later marked with a serial number and the Forevermark logo. According to De Beers, leading independent auditor Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) inspects and monitors every Forevermark partner to ensure compliance the standards on a regular basis. This ongoing process ensures that the Forevermark supply chain is deemed responsible at every stage and Forevermark’s Pipeline Integrity is preserved and maintained. Forevermark selected Forevermark Jewellers in each market to ensure these standards are maintained. In Singapore, Forevermark will be available from Aspial and Lee Hwa stores. Diamonds International in the Caribbean and Mexico will exclusively retail Forevermark diamonds and diamond jewelry in seven stores. Diamonds International is currently the largest fine jewellery retailer in the Caribbean. Forevermark has had a presence in India since late 2009. De Beers is currently in discussions with a number of retailers with the intention of appointing Authorized Forevermark jewelers before the end of the year. According to Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier, “‘we launched Forevermark little more than two years ago with the goal of becoming the world’s leading diamond brand. “We wanted to develop a brand that not only defines quality and integrity within the diamond industry but that also inspires leading independent jewellery manufacturers and retailers to create precious and exciting diamond jewellery. We believe that growing into these new and vibrant markets is bringing us closer to realizing that goal.”

DTC Holds Business Excellence Seminar

We publish courtesy of IDEX Online

The concept of the New Normal reflects on the increasing opportunities that are afforded us by seeking to adapt quickly to the developing landscape. - Shine

DTC Sightholders in London for the Sight also attended the annual Business Excellence Seminar (BES), a series of lectures a nd discussions on how to improve business.

Entitled ‘Operating in the New Normal,’ the BES was hosted by DTC CEO, Varda Shine who said in her opening remarks that “the concept of the New Normal reflects not only the new economic realities that are being imposed on our businesses, but also the increasing opportunities that are afforded us by seeking to adapt quickly to the developing landscape.”

She went on to say that if companies are to succeed, evolution will be the watchword.

De Beers CEO Gareth Penny took the audience back to the beginning of Supplier of Choice and talked about how the challenges the industry faced then have been addressed over the past ten years but cautioned that there are challenges ahead of us.

Four guest speakers held then a series of breakout sessions. Dr Tore Opsahl, Research Associate at Imperial College Business School discussed the role of social networks to spur business growth. He was followed by Dr Andrew Scott, Professor and Deputy Dean (Programs) at London Business School whose presentation focused on how economies normally recover from downturns and how this is affected by financial factors and how financial problems in developed nations are transmitted to emerging countries.

Dr Gemma Calvert, Professor of Applied Neuroscience at the University of Warwick, discussed how consumer behavior is represented in the brain looking at how we actually make choices. Last, Dr Graham Baxter, Associate Director at the International Business Leaders Forum, highlighted the importance of corporate social responsibility and its impact on the bottom line and consumer confidence.

Shine concluded the day by summarizing what each presentation means to diamond businesses across the pipeline.

She highlighted a number of points. The global economy is still in a fragile state and may well become more volatile than before; although interest rates are likely to remain low, the world is deleveraging and borrowing too heavily in the current climate to chase market share and could have negative repercussions

As the diamond industry seeks new opportunities in the new normal, emerging markets – both geographical and virtual – are likely to become of increasing importance, she added.

Corporate Responsibility (CR) is a necessity and not an optional extra, Shine emphasized. Although leading in this field may not always be easy, it is the right thing to do and seeking partnerships in CR activities can be an effective model. Finally, Neuroscience has shown that emotional rather than rational decision making plays the biggest part in consumers’ buying habits; as the diamond is a product so heavily wrapped up in emotion, the industry’s marketing approach should play to these strengths.

DTC March Sight Estimated at $420M

The following article appears courtesy of Rapaport Trade Wire

Intellectual property of Rapaport

The Diamond Trading Company’s (DTC) March sight had an estimated value of $420 million as both prices and assortments remained consistent. Sightholders were satisfied with the DTC boxes, saying that De Beers is currently offering the best value on the market.  One sightholder added that: “The more you see of outside goods, the cheaper DTC looks.”

De Beers pledged during the February sight to keep prices stable in the short term, barring “any further major changes in market conditions.” Sightholders said they expect this stability to last at least until the JCK Las Vegas show in June.