The company, known more for supplying rough diamonds and not for polished and branded diamonds, desperately wants to enter the barred territorries of the world's most lucrative markets - USA with its own diamonds and diamond-studded jewellery. USA has been contributing the most to the global diamond-studded jewellery sales as well as sales of polished diamonds, more so in 1999. This has been indirectly benefitting De Beers, and in 1999 the sale of rough diamonds by the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) reached a record $5.24 billion, a 57-per cent increase over the previous year. Coupled with the millennium diamond and record jewellery sales, USA contributed the most to De Beers' activities. Despite this, this highly lucrative market has been closed for the past five decades to De Beers directly, because of USA's anti trust laws. This changing situation has, therfore, called for a total review of all its activitites. In order to meet the challenge of the change, De Beers has probably, for the first time in itshistory, appointed leading merchant bankers Rothschilds for a structrual review of the De Beers group of companies, including a legal audit to ensure that the group is fully in compliance with current competition legislation in all countries in which the group operates.

De Beers has had a strong hold on the global supplies of rough diamonds with a share of over 65 per cent till the early 90s. By 1999, this share has shrunk to around 44 per cent. This situation has prompted it to renew its aggressive marketing stance which has been diffused over the past couple of years. The annual review of 1999 reveals this need, as also the statements of De Beers' chairman Nickey Oppenheimer and managing director Gary Ralfe."We are passionate about our name: `A (De Beers) diamond is for ever.'" "We are exploring the power of De Beers," the annual report proclaims. Also, "we are responsive, innovative and open to new opportunities, we are improving our disclosure. We are forging a team to deliver shareholder value".

Says Oppenheimer in the chairman's statement: "In recent years, as other diamond producers have emerged, the role of De Beers as custodian has changed until, in today's far more competitive world the company has at times become, instead, the buyer of last resort. In order to protect its interests and that of its stakeholders, measures must be adapted and refined if it is to continue to serve that goal in a changed and competitive world. This means abandoning a broad-brush approach to matching supply and demand for a more finely calibrated instruments, designed primarily to serve the interests of De Beers and its main clients.

Managing director Gary Ralfe's elaborates on the chairman's broad line. Says Ralfe, "We aim to run our business more efficiently and economically. In order for world production and our stocks to be absorbed by the consumer, the diamond industry must reach incremental demand of 5 per cent a year for the next few years".

"This is a challenge following the indifferent performance of real diamond jewellery demand in the 1990s. De Beers must work with its clients and the whole industry to increase the proportion and advertising of diamond jewellery. Analysis has revealed that the advertising to sales ratio of our business is well below those of competing luxury products", he added.Further, enthused by the success of the millennium diamond collection in 1999, De Beers is excited over the potential of De Beers brand. A team, helped by consultants Bain and Co, has been given the challenge to come up with a business plan.

"Although the core business of De Beers will remain in the mining, sorting and selling of rough gem diamonds, additional value could be generated by the De Beers brand. Importantly, we believe that alongside other brands in the diamond jewellery, the De Beers brand could increase marketing spending and generate incremental demand for diamond jewellery".

So, in a yet another aggressive marketing exercise, during 2000, De Beers intends to sell around $5.24-billion worth of diamonds, same as last year. For this, the company will continue to exploit the interest in diamonds created by the millennium with an array of new products initiative... to stimulate additional desire to acquire diamond jewellery. Though targetted to capture wider global market, a majority of strategic changes are aimed also at caputuring the world's most lucrative markets - that of the USA. For more than 50 years, De Beers has been effectively logged out of the US for fear that its assets might be confiscated and its executives arrested due to US anti-trust laws. In order to prompt US policymakers to open the country's doors for De Beers, the company has been active on many fronts.De Beers is reported to be once again in contact with the US authorites, as Washington wants the company's help in ending the so-called `dirty' sales of smuggled diamonds from central Africa, which have been used to finance regional wars. There are reports of a possiblity of resumption of talks between De Beers' lawyers and the US anti-trust officials.