Leviev Calls For Elimination of Competition in Manufacturing

“Competition causes price decreases, and therefore needs to be eliminated,” Israel’s largest diamond dealer Lev Leviev told listeners at the Third International Diamond Conference in Tel Aviv, Tuesday.

In his address, Leviev said the burden in the diamond industry is on the diamond manufacturer. “You can’t blame the diamond producers for their desire to achieve the highest prices possible. Oil, gold, coal and other minerals saw prices rise 300-400 percent in the last five years – much more then diamonds,” he said.

“We grew second and third tier polishers that grew with us. Each gets a different [category of] diamonds, and they don’t compete with each other.”

“The competition between manufacturers,” Leviev continued, “when they all sell the same items, the competition causes them to lower prices.” Because of that, he called for industry wide consolidation, where few operators work in specific areas and don’t compete with each other.

He also called on producers to sit together, set an advertising budget, build a single strategy, managed in a unified manner. Adding to this unlikely scenario, Leviev called for a joint management by few. “It is an advantage – oil refining is done by a few large firms.”

He concluded by saying that there is too much competition in the market, adding that Israel needs to protect its diamond industry.

Eli Yishay, minister of Industry, Trade & Labor, promised in a following speech that bureaucratic barriers will be further removed to protect Israel’s leadership in the global market.

Finally, in a very entertaining presentation, Martin Repaport shouted at the crowd that the diamond industry is going through an earthquake. “It’s all about distribution,” he said, booming. “America is kaput [Yiddish for finished]! It’s all about China and India. “Hey, it’s not about diamond prices – it’s about profit,” he said about diamond trading. On retail, its about the experience. “We are in the feel good business, guys! Women want to know that their man cares enough to suffer for her, she doesn’t want to hear he got a great deal on the diamond.”

However, “[the diamond trader] is responsible for what you buy and what you don’t buy,” he said, alluding to conflict diamonds.

He concluded by calling on the industry to act responsibly and ethically.