Heed the Roar of the Uprising Masses

The world is always in flux. In recent months, the changes are deeper and faster than usual, requiring that we prepare for the events ahead of us. The tidal wave known as the 2008 Great Recession was the start of the change. The shape and depth of that change is not known yet, and its course charted by future decisions.

The financial markets in Europe, the U.S. and many other countries are out of balance, experiencing deep falls and wild fluctuations. They are burdened by heavy debt, imbalanced budgets, ineffective regulation and poor oversight.

The political leadership of most countries is stagnant, incompetent or simply weak. In the U.S., the leading world economy and a superpower in decline, political clashes are taking center stage, leading to a failure to govern effectively, from both the White House and the Hill.

Global social upheaval is ensuing. From New York City's Wall Street to the steps of government in New Delhi, from the streets of Lisbon to the town squares of Tel Aviv, secretly praying in Teheran or dodging bullets in Damascus - common people are responding with collective convulsions at the stench rising from dysfunctional governments failing to effectively deal with the weaknesses that lead to the 2008 crash. The people in the streets are demanding that governments do the obvious – serve the common person with better education, good healthcare, developing infrastructures and effective oversight on businesses blindly going a step too far.

Do not let the mainly polite and non-violent nature of the demonstrations fool you. This is nothing short of an uprising. Powered for the first time by social networks, laptops and smart phones, the people at large are beginning to tell governments “Do or move out of the way.” They are demanding this because it has not been done effectively, and the masses are growing tired of this continued and dangerous failure.

History is calling. If change does not come from the top, it will be forced from below. It is inevitable.

These issues and problems, of course, will not skip the luxury market in which we operate. We cannot and should not ignore it. First and foremost, the basic defensive business lessons of the 2008 crash must be remembered and maintained: reducing inventories, trimming fat, buying well, limiting memos, shortening payment terms and protecting cash flow.

Like every crisis, this is also an opportunity. Investing in advertising, training sales teams, offering staff special bonuses for excellence, focusing on your customers’ needs, creating innovative marketing plans and rewarding your best customers will payoff with growing your market share and maintaining your income.

Jewelers and diamantaires must remember that diamonds are a discretionary consumer purchase. At some point, shoppers may find a less-expensive or less socially offensive alternative, and diamond demand will diminish. To avoid, this we need to remain a positive image in the consumers’ mind.

The global popular upheaval is also taking place inside our industry. The Non Government Organizations that are founding members of the Kimberley Process are now threatening to boycott it and turn to the world saying we are acting immorally. Do not underestimate this very real danger.

They are choosing to do so, not only backed by the general winds of change, but for the continued failure to effectively shake off the collective hump on our back. Zimbabwe is mocking good order, the current chair is exercising an independent policy, a group of countries – Venezuela and Congo, to name a few – keep fooling the Scheme, and the policymakers fail time and again to move forward with necessary sanctions and corrective changes.

Not necessarily smart in their ways, but NGOs are responding to the same issues as the civil groups mentioned above: ineffective response on the part of leadership to resolve glaring problems, ills and injustices.

We must collectively fight for our share of the November-December Holiday Season. It requires understanding of the problems, careful planning and decisive execution. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, introspective examination and forgiveness are a must. If we ignore the opportunity, we will be judged harshly.