De Beers Brand Loses Its Sparkle

Add De Beers to the list of brands on the decline.

Though De Beers once claimed 90% of the world's diamond production, diamond industry sales have dropped by as much as a third over the past year, and analysts predict that its production will fall by around 50% after a collapse in sales in 2009.

The dealer recently closed all four of its mines in Botswana because of credit issues with independent diamond factory businesses that buy rough diamonds and cut, polish, and sell them to the retail trade. In the past year, almost one-quarter of its workforce has been cut and payroll numbers have decreased from about 20,500 to just under 16,000.Continue reading...