Tiffany’s Diamond Engagement Rings Cut And Polished In Africa
Tiffany’s has decided to move backwards in the diamond chain. Ever since the demand for diamonds surged earlier in this decade, the retailer has been making plans to source, cut and polish its own diamonds so that it will not be at the mercy of middlemen. They have, thus far, set up units in many parts of the world. The one in Botswana, Africa, has around eighty workers in a factory without windows. The workers are not trained fully as yet and they need constant attention to make sure they are doing things right.
However, this is the way Tiffany wants it, even though it has to cope with very low productivity, labour costs that are pretty high and the prospect of their workers staging sit-ins. The problem is, should a high end retailer really go all the way back to the sourcing, cutting and polishing stage when they are not really equipped to do so? Especially when they don’t have the necessary expertise in these areas? Tiffany’s however, defends their strategy, claiming to be building up stocks with lower costs for when the demand goes up again.
Tags: diamond rings, Diamonds, engagement rings, Tiffany's
