De Beers starts outlining plans to help its struggling buyers
JOHANNESBURG – After watching diamond sales plunge in 2019 as a crisis engulfed the industry, De Beers is taking action to help its struggling buyers.
The middlemen who cut, polish and trade the world’s gems were at the center of a disastrous year for the diamond industry last year, after a glut of both rough and polished stones destroyed profit margins and banks tightened financing. De Beers sells its diamonds to a handpicked group of roughly 80 buyers and many have grown frustrated as the industry soured.
In meetings in Botswana this week, De Beers outlined plans to assign its customers into three categories — dealers, manufacturers and integrated retailers, according to people familiar with the matter. The move will help the diamond miner ensure that each buyer gets the stones most suited to its needs and business type, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks were private.
Source: iol.co.za
