Diamond Shavings: Your Friday Web Roundup
Another titan of the jewelry industry liquidates – including brands Carlyle, JE Caldwell, Zell Brothers, Congress and Bailey, Banks and Biddle. Pathetic.
- Earlier: Former Carlyle owner bid for assets.
Retailers slash hiring for holiday.
Zale to restate financials. Oy.
- GLG: Zale’s last chance?
Fortunoff to open outdoor stores.
- “Not now” returning to jewelry.
Lazare Kaplan faces delisting.
Hong Kong show report: “Decent.”
- Buyers “price resistant.”
Indian industry looks to synthetics.
Australia intervening in KP/Zimbabwe dispute?
De Beers to move aggregation to Botswana (after delay.)
Chaim on “recycled diamonds.”
Cash4Gold drops lawsuit against bloggers.
Philadelphia’s “Joe the Jeweler” arrested.
John Rudd, former De Beers editor and heir of Cecil Rhodes partner, dies.
Investors want Leviev to “pony up.”
SA man sentenced for diamond smuggling.
Report: Botswana has “misplaced loyalty” to De Beers.
- Also claims Debswana worked with “Executive Outcomes,” and apartheid-era SA.
- Full report. (PDF)
- “Verbal fireworks” at launch.
- De Beers rebuts, government “trashes”, claims “errors.”
- Full DB response (doc.)
- Researchers stand by report.
Jewelry robbery gang busted.
- NJ trio tried to scam jewelers.
DDC meets with Thai Prime Minister.
Hope Diamond available for viewing. (Video.)
Media Watch:
- Daily Telegraph sees the market coming back.
- The Age (Australia) on dwindling diamond supply.
- The Seattle Times on the “less snooty Tiffany’s.”’
- A Motley Fool reader discusses the diamond industry.
- Newsweek blog on Zimbabwe diamonds.
- The Frisky on engagement rings, based on the Freakonomics blog.
- A Boston Globe blog letter writer hates diamonds.
From the Blog:
Fortunoff: “Not Now” Returning to Jewelry Business.
Carlyle: Right Back Where They Started From?
Have a great weekend …
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Luis de Agustin commented:
Further to the insert "Retailers Slash Hiring for holiday," because retail staff already is at the bone, to realize the not unexpected reduction of seasonals, but of such a substantial number is of serious concern.
Except for the truly wealthy, the 70% of the US economy that consumers represent continues tapped out beyond a hand to mouth or “essentials purchasing” ability. Without income growth, even the portion of employed Americans cannot be counted on to maintain the consumer section at its already body blow taken best.
Even artificially low, Fed induced interest rates, aren’t helping. Instead, consumers are paying debt loads to survive – spending only on what they can’t put off.
As for the portion of America that’s not even thinking of spending on non-essentials, it’s practically unseemly to tempt them into showrooms when they are victims of unemployment pressure that’s officially at 10% but that in truth when underemployment is factored in is into the high teens.
With commercial real estate yet to tank or home foreclosures yet to peak, and the degradation of the US dollar not even on the radar screen (by design), the gainfully employed workforce necessary to grow the current size of the already trimmed retail sector remains distantly swooning.
All a retailer can do is defend and work his brand, devote every available idea to customer satisfaction, and every dollar that’s not nailed down, invested in productive – income enhancing – training.
Luis de Agustin
