Virtual diamond platform for Aussie retailers

Posted November 23, 2010 | By Sonia Nair

The Diamond Dealers Club of Australia is poised to launch a virtual trading floor with the aim of strengthening the local diamond industry.

Expansion into the retail market and an increased focus on consumers were two of the major initiatives addressed at the Diamond Dealers Club of Australia's (DDCA) annual bourse elections, held on November 11 in Sydney.

Re-elected president Rami Baron said discussions during the event highlighted the increasing importance of gaining a retailer’s viewpoint.

“Having retailers there showed us the power of having the other perspective.”

Although DDCA currently has retailer members, they do not have voting rights like the diamond merchant members. Baron wants to make it more cost-effective for retailers to join in the hopes that they will become full DDCA members and can lend input into DDCA’s decision making.

‘We need to incorporate the retail market and expand into it to keep the club relevant. We have to come to terms with the fact that the retailer is the face of diamonds,” Baron said.

As part of a plan to strengthen the local diamond industry and draw retailers into the framework, the DDCA will create a virtual trading floor.

“Diamond dealers can list their stock on a secure web portal as part of a secure network and retailers can search for goods and contact dealers they’ve never met before,” Baron said.

Although international websites like Rapaport and IDEX link merchants to retailers, Baron said there was a gap in the Australian market for such a website.

“It is a fundamental issue in Australia where if you need a diamond and you’re a retailer, you need it to be available immediately and this is what we want to do.”

Baron was careful to highlight that the website would only be available to diamond merchants who had local headquarters.

He said the website would be restricted to support the local industry due to the small and competitive nature of the Australian market.

In another development for the industry, the DDCA is to revamp its website to make it more consumer-oriented, with a specific section dedicated to trade.

While the virtual trading floor is intended to be beneficial for merchants, the consumer website will be designed to drive traffic and create trading opportunities for retailers.

Baron described the twofold agenda as an arrangement that would be mutually advantageous for both merchants and retailers.

“The interaction is on two levels. We want to create a tool for the merchant to move merchandise while simultaneously creating a website for retailers to link to consumers and drive traffic to them.”

The DDCA aims to implement the proposed initiatives in January.

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