De Beers Group
De Beers Group
Established in the year 1888 by Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman, De Beers Group is the leading diamond company in the world. With many specializations, including diamond mining, diamond exploration, diamond retail, diamond trading, and diamond manufacturing, De Beers Group operates in 35 different countries around the world, and mines out of Canada, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. Currently, the diamond company has a 35% stake in the entire world’s diamond production, and only recently have they experienced any type of competition. Before the 21st century, De Beers Group managed to have a 100% monopoly in the diamond industry. Headquartered in London, United Kingdom, De Beers Group has a $6.1 billion dollar annual revenue, and the company em
ploys over 20,000 employees.
Known as master marketers, their innovative and unique approach to marketing is key to their success. Originating the campaigns leading diamonds to symbolize “love and commitment”, De Beers Group has consistently manipulated consumer demand throughout their 129 year history. In the year 1947, one of their employees famously came up with the slogan, “A Diamond is Forever”, which was named one of the ‘best advertising slogans of the 20th century’ by Advertising Age magazine.
De Beers Group has several joint operations, which include Debmarine Namibia, Debswana, DTCB, Namdeb, and NDTC. And, they are full owners of Forevermark, De Beers Diamond Jewelers, De Beers Ventures, International Institute of Diamond Valuation, and The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research. Unfortunately, over the years, De Beers Group has experienced many legal issues surrounding their marketing practices, company model, and more. Starting in the year 2001, there were several lawsuits filed against De Beers Group which stated that they unlawfully monopolized the supply of diamonds, and conspired to fix, raise, and control diamond prices, according to www.wikipedia.com. All of those lawsuits were eventually settled in March of 2008 for $295 million.
