Flipped: the diamond supply chain and the rise of the specialist
At the GIA International Gemological Symposium, Elliot Tannenbaum of Leo Schachter Diamonds told delegates that the diamond supply chain had been ‘flipped on its head’.
With the advent of widely available and reliable data online, consumers are no longer passive or reliant on retailers; in fact, as Tannenbaum pointed out, we should not be surprised if they are better informed than the retailers on whom they previously relied.
This presents an incredible challenge for traditional retailers and distributors; they can no longer rely on ‘custom by default’. Tannenbaum suggests that the time for generalists is over, and that only by finding niche markets and products can retailers survive. This sentiment was echoed in a further presentation by Paco Underhill of Envirosell, who warned retailers of the dangers of resting on their laurels: “If you don’t use the Internet in 2006, goodbye, because you won’t be here in 2010.”
