case study : de beers at the millenium

use this structure and give the analysis of case

This is a quote from Nicky Oppenheimer when he was Deputy Chairman of De Beers and head of the Central Selling Organization (CSO):

"I think that the key... is that we deal in something that is a luxury. It's not a necessity and if people stopped buying diamonds tomorrow, their lifestyle really would not change in any way. And this constrains us against either trying to charge too high a price for the goods or trying in any way to behave in an underhanded manner. So we're a monopoly, but we like to think of ourselves more as a sort of cooperative, and I think that is the word that probably best describes what we do, a cooperative keeping the balance in place."

Intro on who De Beers is and how they operate

Economic perspective based off the quote by Oppenheimer

• How big De Beers really is in their industry
• Created the scarcity and high demand for diamonds (Diamonds are forever)

Compare to other cooperatives like the Maple syrup or Italian wine industry

• Supply of diamonds, stability of prices, and how they managed the market for Sh. Equity

Game theory and strategy arguments that support

• Cooperative analogy (stability and market control)

Criticisms they have faced

• Monopolistic control over the industry
• conversational practices like stockpiling, price manipulation, and conflict diamonds.

Conclusion

• Believe that they are cooperative because of how they have stabilized the industry and cooperated with other producers.