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Industry News: Executives Attend Harvard Business School Symposium; Diamond Industry Comes Together July 08, 2015 (0 comments)
Industry Executives Attend GIA’s Global Leadership Program at Harvard Business School
Carlsbad, CA—For the second year in a row, senior gem and jewelry executives gathered at Harvard Business School (HBS) in Cambridge, MA to discuss challenges facing the industry.
GIA’s Global Leadership Program, held June 15-18, featured 42 senior executives from 12 countries and 14 sectors from mining to manufacturing and retail, in a custom program with a curriculum based on the distinguished HBS case study method. The 2015 program focused on the importance of marketing, branding, strategy, and communications, and addressed particular industry challenges.
“The quality of the case studies, the participants, the interactions and debate, as well as the ability of the HBS professors to deliver was at the pinnacle of exceptional quality,” said John Green, chair of GIA’s board of governors. “This program has again brought closer collaborations to our supply chain and our industry.”
Among the case studies covered during this year’s program were Harley Davidson’s entrance into the India market, the iconic ‘Intel Inside’ campaign and the building of the Real Madrid soccer team into a global brand.
The program served as “a splendid platform for peers from all walks of the industry to discuss and exchange ideas, information and concerns both in business and matters regarding our industry,” said one participant. “It was humbling but also invigorating to be in the company of such great minds and leaders. I’m personally very excited for the future of our trade – I think the best is yet to come,” added another.
GIA, in conjunction with HBS, initiated the four-day program in 2014 to bring together global leaders representing different sectors of the gem and jewelry to examine issues faced by international businesses and apply the experiences of other sectors and industries to their own.
Participants of the 2015 GIA Global Leadership Program (in alphabetical order, not as pictured) were: Lita Asscher, Royal Asscher; Mihir Bhansali, Firestar Diamond Inc; Dave Bindra, B & B Fine Gems; Patrick Coppens, Rio Tinto Diamonds; Rohit Dhamani, Dhamani Group; Akshay Dholakia, Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd.; Hasumu Dholakiya, H.K. Designs/Hari Krishna Exports; Pat Duncan, Helzberg Diamonds; Cathy Fischer, Sterling Jewelers; John Green, Lux Bond & Green, GIA Board of Governors; Myriam Gumuchian, Gumuchian; Keith Higley, Damas International Limited; Susan Jacques, GIA; Rajiv Jain, ABN AMRO Bank N.V.; Andrew Johnson, Diamond Cellar Holdings, LLC; Stephen Kahler, Swarovski; Sandeep Kothari, KGK Diamonds; Greg Kwiat, Kwiat & Fred Leighton; Lior Levin, DIACORE; Jenny Luker, Platinum Guild International; Tim Matthews, Jewelry Television; Akarsh Mehta, Excel Success Ltd.; Arnav Mehta, Blue Star Group; Ashay Mehta, Rasiklal Hiralal & Co.; Raj Mehta, Rosy Blue NV; Viral D. Mehta, Dimexon; Thomas Moses, GIA; Kapil Nevatia, Sunjewels Pvt. Ltd.; James Pounds, Dominion Diamond International NV; Adonis Pouroulis, Petra Diamonds; Martin Rapaport, Rapaport Group; Stuart Samuels, Premier Gem Corporation; Ashwani K. Sethi, Tara Pearls; Matt Stuller, Stuller, Inc.; Peter Suen, Chow Tai Fook; Aron Suna, Suna Bros. Inc.; Dov Tannenbaum, Leo Schachter Diamonds; Dennis Ulrich, Richline Group Inc.; Tommy Wu, Shire Trading Ltd.; Bridd Xu, zBird.com; Thomas Yang, YMPETUS, GIA Board of Governors; Alan Zimmer, Reeds Jewelers.
Diamond Presidents’ Meeting Focuses On Reviving Consumer Demand
Tel Aviv, Israel—The biennial meeting of global diamond bourses' and manufacturing associations' presidents, focused on lack of profitability in the industry and the perceived disconnect between the pricing policies of the producers and the polished diamond prices in the market place.
"However, there was across-the board consensus that the most important issues on the table are consumer confidence in diamonds and diamond jewelry, and the need to bring back the consumers' desire for diamonds," said Israel Diamond Exchange president Shmuel Schnitzer.
"For the first time at a Presidents' Meeting, there was a common thread through all the topics on the agenda; the growing realization that if we do not take stringent measures and succeed in bringing back market share and consumer desire for diamonds, all of us, from miners down to retail jewelers, will suffer the consequences.”
World Federation of Diamond Bourses president Ernest Blom asked attendees, “Have you ever heard of a 20-year-old standing outside a [jewelry] store all night to buy jewelry? I haven't. We have fallen behind the times!'"
Frank Müller, a luxury consumer product market analyst from Germany, presented a critical look at the position and prospect of diamonds and diamond jewelry in the current consumer markets. Müller urged the industry players not only to find ways to ally themselves to brands, but also to take proactive steps to insert themselves into generic branding efforts. Like it or not, Müller noted, brands will continue to invest and market their exclusive diamond products directly to the consumer.
He emphasized that to compete successfully, the brands will try to shorten their supply pipeline, pull their supplies as close as they can from the source, and as a consequence they will be pushing current players—diamond traders, wholesalers and distributors—to the sidelines and possibly out of the pipeline hierarchy.
But Müller was positive about the future prospects of the diamond industry and trade. "You have a great product! It is pertinent that you keep focused on the consumer, tell the consumer the unique story of the diamond and invest in reconnecting the diamond with the consumer's emotions. By doing so, diamonds will regain their status with the consumer. The key words of these messages are love, beauty, relationships, trust, uniqueness and indispensability. And by partnering with retailers, jewelry designers and brands, the industry can do wonders in make diamonds once again those unique pieces that consumers love to hear about, talk about and purchase as an expression of their own emotions and dreams," he advised.
The 2016 World Diamond Congress (held in alternate years to the Presidents’ Meeting) will be hosted by the Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from May 29 to June 1, 2016.