DTC announces shift in ownership of Top Brands

De Beers Diamond Trading Company (DTC) announced a major shift in ownership of its brands including Asmi, Arisia and Sangini. It decided to hand over the intellectual property rights of Nakshatra to DTC clients who had invested heavily in the Brands. The latter has been put for sale according to several sightholders. DTC declined to comment on any aspect of its sudden shift in policy. A sightholder said the company may move forward by handing over the other brands to the investors. �They seem to want to be more in generic advertising,� he stated. The policy change highlights the legal sensitivities of DTC controlling the intellectual property rights as the dominant supplier.

Competing brands have always been at the core of the DTC�s Supplier of Choice strategy. The strategy states that clients who wish to remain part of its customer base have to invest in downstream projects and brands in particular. DTC previously insisted on retaining ownership but the change in policy will highlight the commercial reality. Clients are unwilling to invest millions in what are considered to be high risk, long-term and costly projects without at least the comfort of ownership. "We think the decision is historic and very positive," said an industry source. "The sightholders who made the initial marketing costs and manufacturing the diamonds and jewellery were not comfortable putting more money in a brand they did not own.

Under the agreement, the sightholders involved � Dimexon, Mahendra Brothers and Digico � founded a company earlier this year.Brightest Circle Jewellery is the first venture between sightholders promoting a brand together. Brightest Circle Jewellery (Private) Limited, has been granted an exclusive licence to use the Nakshatra brand, and has an option to purchase the brand from DTC. Although Nakshatra is not yet profitable, the sightholders involved said the brand had enormous potential. Nakshatra initially started in 2000 on the basis of several participants promoting the diamond jewellery while at the same time competing with each other. Over the past few years Nakshatra has won a number of advertising awards, including two Effies.