De Beers LV Expects to be Global Brand by 2010

De Beers LV, the retail joint venture of De Beers and French luxury goods giant LVMH, expects it will have built itself into a global consumer brand within five years, said its chief executive Guy Leymarie.

Leymarie told Reuters that the opening of De Beers LV's first U.S. store on June 23 on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue was a vital move in turning the venture into a major force in diamond retailing despite the extremely competitive nature of the U.S. market.

The De Beers LV retail venture could potentially increase to up to 20 stores in the United States once it matured, but there are no immediate plans for a large-scale expansion, Leymarie said.

"You are talking about 5 years to establish a brand," Leymarie said in an interview with the wire agency. "We aim at being a global brand and our biggest advantage is that De Beers already has an exceptional level of name recognition."

Leymarie said although De Beers LV was aware the United States was a highly competitive market, it would distinguish itself from established rivals, such as Tiffany & Co, by providing an outstanding "retail experience."

"We have no history and that gives us an opportunity to be a jeweler for modernity," said Leymarie, who added that through the second half of this year De Beers LV would spend as much as $4 million on marketing in the United States.

The 6,000 square feet Fifth Avenue store would stock a broad mix of engagement and other diamond classics, with some collections featuring items priced as low as $350 to $500, Leymarie said.

Although De Beers announced plans to create its luxury brand and retail chain with LVMH four years ago, its diamond collections have so far been sold only in London, where it opened a store on Bond Street in 2002, and in Tokyo, where there are three boutiques and a fourth one is slated to open this month.

De Beers LV is planning to open its second U.S. store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills in October.

Last month, Leymarie said De Beers LV was planning to open dozens of stores in the United States as part of an overall expansion featuring the opening of 150 stores throughout the world in the coming decade.