During the Session II of WDC India 2014, miners’ perspectives are being presented by Jean Marc Lieberherr, MD, Rio Tinto Diamonds and Stephen Lussier, De Beers.

#Post 1:

Jean Marc Lieberherr, MD, Rio Tinto Diamonds says, "The Diamond is the extraordinary brand one can think of. It has huge potential. However, if we fail to nurture this brand then it will disintegrate little by little. The lack of dialogue is causing a problem. The industry has been hijacked by egos, politics and miscommunications. If we all could work together not wondering about who is going to get the credit, we can do a lot more for the industry. Working together and having a unified objection is what we need."

#Post 2:

Stephen Lussier, De Beers says, "We are very optimistic about India in all fronts. We talked to 40,000 Indian potential consumers of diamond jewellery. One exciting insight of our studies I would like to share that we are penetrating the market in a big way. A few key conclusions of our other research shows that diamonds do across the world continue to attract the world. Diamonds are eternally elegant, not fashionable but classic. China, India and the U.S. if driven will generate profits. We don't necessarily spend less on marketing. De Beers spends $100 million on marketing. But, relatively to other luxury sectors, we are spending less on marketing. We need to understand what consumers want. De beers fundamentally believe in the importance of consumers’ desire. De beers is a leading producer by value and ALROSA is leading producer by carats. We need to market the diamond in a way that it touches the desire of consumers. The consumer confidence is going low. We need to make them believe that the diamonds they buy are creating benefits for the countries they are mined in and cut and polished in. Consumer growth demand without the increase in profit margin is of no use to us. We need luxury arms like our luxury competitors. We need to create more brands. China and the U.S. are very brand centric. They bring the glamour and they bring the luxe factor such as Gucci and Louis Vuitton did with couture.”

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