The report was a result of the need for the miner to plan out where it was going in the next century not simply to look back on more than a century of mining activity, said CEO Philippe Mellier.
De Beers Group CEO Philippe Mellier said the company had chosen the Hong Kong Gem and Jewellery Fair as the venue for the launch of its new 'Diamond Insight Report' due to the important role it plays in the global diamond and jewelry markets.
"The report makes clear that the industry is undergoing large-scale changes," he commented at a briefing at the show. "What worked before is unlikely to work in the new, fast-changing world," he said in comments reported by IDEX Online.
"Has the industry grasped buying differences between the U.S. and the Far East? Does it fully appreciate that buyers are researching thoroughly on the Internet before buying? Does it realize that there are differences between male and female purchases, and between young and old? The old paradigms are no longer relevant. The way the consumer interacts with the industry is changing," he commented.
Mellier also spoke of the supply shortfall that is likely to take place in the coming decade, and the challenges the industry faces from synthetic diamonds.
Meanwhile, Stephen Lussier, Executive VP, Marketing, said that both China and the U.S. had the potential for large growth. "In China, prices paid for diamonds have risen by 32 percent in the past decade, while diamonds bought have risen on average from 0.18 points to quarter-caraters. And diamond ownership has doubled to 20 percent from 10 percent. However, it should be noted that is still a long way from the figure of 70 percent for the United States."
He said the industry could take great encouragement from the huge rise in middle class households in India and China and the growth in disposable income that would result. In the next decade there would be 500 million middle class households, he said.
However, he stressed that the diamond jewelry industry had to promote itself since other luxury segments, such as electronic devices and vacation providers were doing so very strongly. "Diamonds are not on the top five list of luxury products cited by U.S. women," he commented.
Bruce Cleaver, Executive Head, Strategy, spoke of the need for more investment being needed in exploration. However, higher budgets would not necessarily guarantee the discovery of new mines.
He pointed out that a total of $7 billion had been spent on diamond exploration globally by mining firms since 2000 without any major new finds being made. De Beers, alone, is investing $50 million annually in exploration, he said.
