A vendor at the JCK show in Las Vegas offered 1 carat lab-grown diamonds at “100% back of Rapaport Price List.” You don’t need the latest copy of the Rapaport list to realize that “100% back” means free.
Alan Cohen, vice president of sales for Shinebright USA, a lab-grown diamond seller, says he dreamt up the “100% back” idea with Shinebright president Akshat Sanghavi as more or less a joke.
“It was out of frustration of hearing everyone saying 97 off of Rap, 98 percent,” he says. “I don’t see how you make a profit at 97 back. So I said, let’s do something crazy.”
The promotion stipulated the diamonds were “100% back of Rap” with special conditions, meaning another purchase. So it wasn’t like the company was giving away diamonds for free, he says.
His company got calls from all over the world about his promotion, and he was able to open up a bunch of new accounts at the show. Though he notes that not everyone on the wholesale end found it funny. And while his company did give away a few diamonds, they were accompanied by other orders.
Cohen is extremely bullish on the future of lab-grown diamonds, which he thinks will eventually comprise 50% of the market. But he says the promotion had a message behind it.
“I was saying stop devaluing the product. Stop the madness.”
All of which made for a clever eyebrow-raising promotion. But did it stop the race to the bottom? By recent evidence, probably not.
About Shinebright
With over 50 years of experience in the diamond and jewelry industry, Shinebright USA is a leader in lab grown diamonds. The company is located in the New York City diamond districts and has offices in Bombay and Surat (both in India) as well.
“We know what our customers are looking for and we are continuously innovating to give our partners what they need to be successful. Our wide range of high quality products at unmatched prices offer the perfect selection for any consumer walking through the door,” describes Akshat Sanghavi. The SHINEBRIGHT brand provides retail partners with customizable, high-quality digital marketing assets, sales training, displays, and long-term memo opportunities.
