WFDB and BDB lead industry wide appeal for resources to support Indian communities: David Kellie, CEO, NDC

Before I give an update on the activities at the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), our thoughts go to everybody in our industry in India, their families and their communities. I’d like to thank the WFDB and BDB for leading an industry wide appeal for resources to support the Indian communities. Our industry is a leader in supporting our employees and people and we need to keep them at the center of all that we do.

In the context of the global crisis, it seems inappropriate to celebrate the many successes that our industry is seeing now. But as we emerge from the crisis, the financial welfare of our industry is equally important to support our employees and communities.

 We are announcing today a major partnership with Chow Tai Fook (CTF), the world’s largest jewelry retailer with over 4,500 retail locations worldwide in the fastest growing luxury market, China & Hong Kong. This multi-year partnership provides for a significant investment in marketing, advertising, visual merchandising and sales professional education, building CTF’s reputation as the destination for the natural diamond dream. I’d like to personally thank Mr. Kent Wong and Mr. Chan Sai-Cheong at CTF for their vision and partnership and we look forward to many years of working closely together.

In the US, the diamond jewelry market continues to be exceptionally strong. All the key retail performance indicators point to an undoubtedly positive first four months of the year, even when compared to a base year of 2019. The numbers support our strongly held beliefs that consumer engagement and desire for diamonds remains very high, confirming our strategies to engage consumers predominantly through the multitude of digital channels with culturally relevant content for a millennial audience. This year, we’ll have more than 100 million unique visitors to our global website, naturaldiamonds.com, and our messaging reaching billions of impressions through multiple social media feeds.

As we plan for a life after the pandemic, we see many more opportunities for the ongoing growth of the diamond jewelry industry. I have heard voices in our industry concerned about what may happen when consumers have more choices to spend money on – travel and experience being the most obvious of these. However, we see this as an opportunity. Diamond jewelry is the perfect accompaniment to travel and experiences – what better way to celebrate a unique and memorable moment! As a reaction to a year of living in sweats, fashion forecasts predict a return of dressing up to go out. Again, a great opportunity to expand the appeal of diamond jewelry. Not to mention, a boost in pandemic engagements means an upcoming year full of weddings where diamonds will be center stage. In all our planning for the Fall / Holiday 2021 season, we are looking to celebrate the new life that we all hope to be living and putting diamond jewelry firmly at the center of consumers seeking to “love life” after a long period of isolation. I don’t see any slowdown in our current success for the foreseeable future!

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India News Service