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Showing posts from October, 2012

New broom at De Beers

We read with interest the recent statement by De Beers of structural corporate changes.  Present divisions will disappear, more notably DTC and Diamdel, and operations will be consolidated under the De Beers name.  The release emphasizes that operations continue as before; that the Sightholder designation and its marketing franchise continues; and that operationally everything is the same. But, of course, it is not the same.  The statement does make it clear (or rather unclear in the corporate speak we have heard before) that the market has changed, and that De Beers must refocus its thinking and planning to be based on the consumer.  If I can interpret, it sounds like business will become more demand driven than supply driven.  That has been the reality anyway for a while.  Now it is being institutionalized. But this cannot be all there is to it.  Let's speculate a bit, which is all we can do, about the possible/probable motivations. As for the name changes, we have seen so