Diamdel: Expanding Online Sales in Israel Due to Strong Demand

(IDEX Online News) - Shortly after De Beers announced that it will allow Diamond Trading Company (DTC) Sightholders to take part in Diamdel’s tenders, Diamdel said last week that it will expand its sales presence in Israel in the months ahead. The reason for the expansion is “to provide more opportunities for more Israel based businesses to buy more rough via its innovative online auctions.”

De Beers said that DTC Sightholders will be allowed to participate in Diamdel’s tender starting next month. Diamdel was until now De Beers’ supplier of rough diamonds to the secondary market, officially offering up to 10 percent of De Beers' production by value.

CEO Neil Ventura said in a statement that “since the launch of auctions back in January 2008, we have witnessed steady growth in the number of Israeli based companies registering with us and our expansion in Tel Aviv will allow us to meet our customer needs to a greater extent than current capacity allows.”

According to Limor Rosner, who heads Diamdel’s sales in Tel Aviv, the change comes after an “aggressive but necessary restructuring process in 2007” that resulted in a dramatically reduced presence in Israel. “We will be changing offices and relocating Diamdel Israel towards the end of 2010,” she said.

Calling the Israeli demand “strong and growing,” she added that Diamdel wants to ensure that it remains one of the leading rough suppliers to the Israeli market.