The De Beers Group
Synopsis
In May 2018, the De Beers Group shocked the diamond industry when it announced it was launching a new fashion jewelry brand of laboratory-grown (synthetic) diamonds. The reaction was swift as people sought to understand the company's motivations: was it a "huge gamble" or a "Machiavellian masterstroke"? What was the objective of the new product launch, would it succeed, and how would this new business affect the Group's core business of selling natural (mined) diamonds? This case is intended to be used in conjunction with and to follow a related HBS case: The De Beers Group: Exploring the Diamond Reselling Opportunity (HBS #717-430).
This case illustrates the process of strategy development at one of the world's most iconic brands (De Beers). Along with the Diamond Reselling case, it illustrates how companies can use exploration and experimentation to develop positions in new markets. Within the diamond industry, it shows an attempt to differentiate products (the market for natural vs. synthetic diamonds) and to defend a core market by commoditizing a potential threat. Finally, it illustrates Bain & Company's strategic concept of using "adjacent" markets to achieve incremental growth and profitability above and beyond a firm's core market (see Zook and Allen, HBR 2003).
- Copyright:
- 2018 President and Fellows of Harvard College
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- ISBN-13:
- Publisher:
- Harvard Business School Publishing
- Date of Addition:
- 2019-04-03T21:42:49Z
- Language:
- English
- Categories:
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.