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Diamond major De Beers entered the Indian market with its Forevermark brand in 2011, and has already witnessed a three-fold growth in sales. Its Chief Executive OfficerStephen Lussier told Business Line that the company expects a moderate growth in sales in India. He also talked about the company’s expansion plans and the growing demand for diamonds in the country.
Excerpts:
How has the journey been for De Beers in India so far?
It has been an exciting period for us. We have been able to triple our sales and double our doors in 2012 Q4, against the year-ago period. We are already present in 80 retail outlets and hope to touch 130 doors across 20 top cities by end 2013.
Are you planning to open company-owned standalone stores?
No. Forevermark is not retail but a diamond brand and hence cannot open standalone stores. We will partner with other retailers and continue to support our diamonds that we mine and support our partners in providing then expertise in retailing, marketing skills and design.
What kind of growth are you expecting this year, given the fact that gold prices are rising and so is import duty?
Rising gold price is a global problem and we take a long-tern view for diamonds, keeping in mind the volatile prices and its impact on sales. De Beers expects moderate growth in diamond jewellery demand globally. However, it is optimistic about the Indian market.
Diamonds have already garnered about 20 per cent of the total jewellery sales in India and is growing fast.
What is your focus area. How is 2013 looking like?
We are looking at promoting solitaires (diamonds of one carat and above). This is an emerging category and consumers are getting more aware about the benefits of solitaires. There is a gradual shift from multi-stone jewellery to one piece daily-wear pieces.
We hope that India would contribute around 10 per cent to our total global revenues in next 5 years. While 2013 is not going to be a booming year, we are cautious and expect good sales.
What are your investment plans?
We can’t share numbers. However, our investments have grown over 100 per cent year-on-year. We plan to invest heavily on strengthening the marketing and distribution.
> priyanka.pani@thehindu.co.in
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