Botswana President Festus Mogae has been briefed on the state of the world diamond market by De Beers’ managing director Gary Ralfe and executives of De Beer’s Diamond Trading Company (DTC).
They told Mogae and members of the Botswana Parliament that to fight competition in the luxury goods sector, the industry would have to develop competitive strategies. Covering four identified key areas; distribution, advertising, branding and consumer confidence, they hoped to have the DTC’s ”Supplier of Choice” strategy ready by mid-year.
”To keep diamonds firmly on the agenda of consumers, there is a need to come up with proactive strategies. This is particularly so in the context of an increasingly competitive luxury goods sector,” Mogae was told.
The DTC executives were in Botswana last week, but details of the briefings were released only on Thursday.
In a statement, Debswana, the 50/50 partnership between De Beers and the Botswana Government that markets all Botswana’s diamond production, which is the greatest by value in the world, said the DTC believed there was a need to develop the most efficient and effective distribution (of diamonds); and to stimulate investment in advertising and marketing to the levels that luxury products deserved.
Strong brands were an essential element in the transformation of the prospects of the diamond industry; as was a commitment to maintaining consumer confidence in the diamond jewellery business. – Sapa