|
|
Profile: David Gavin
Jun 15, 2014 5:00 AM
By Rapaport News
|
|
|
RAPAPORT... The Diamond Bourse of Canada began operations in 2010, providing a bourse to the world’s third-largest diamond mining country by value. David Gavin was re-elected to a second term as president of the bourse at the end of May this year.
 Name: David Gavin
From: Canada
Company: Diamond Bourse of Canada – President
Rapaport News: What is your background in the diamond industry?
DG: I am a third-generation diamantaire. My late grandfather was a diamond polisher who lived in Amsterdam and completed his apprenticeship in Antwerp. He then moved to South Africa in 1926 to Wynberg in the Cape Province where a diamond factory had opened that needed skilled labor.
My dad followed my grandfather into the business and then I went into the business after I graduated from university. I eventually opened my own diamond wholesale company in 1987, which was fairly successful.
I immigrated to Canada in August 1989 and worked for various companies while finding my footing amid the recession that year. It was a difficult time but I was fortunate enough to get a sales position with Fabrikant as a loose diamond salesman in Canada. I slowly worked my way up to vice-president of the company and took over diamond merchandising, which meant that I dealt with the major jewelry retailers in Canada.
By 1996, I wanted to go out on my own and decided the opportunity was ripe to become a small wholesaler. Running my own business, I have continued to sell to the major jewelry retailers in Canada.
Rapaport News: What brought you to the Diamond Bourse of Canada?
DG: With the advent of De Beers Victor diamond mine in northern Ontario, the provincial government felt there would be a need for representation for the diamond industry seeing as they were becoming a producing province.
They did a feasibility study to see if it was something worthwhile and obviously there proved to be significant interest. The government then put up some seed money and looked for members to match the funds. We proceeded to formally constitute a board with 14 founding members in 2009 and that was the beginning of the Diamond Bourse of Canada.
I was among the original 14 board members and took over the role of treasurer. When we held the first election I ran for bourse president and was elected. Since then, I have overseen the bourse for two years and was re-elected in the most recent elections.
The current board has 7 directors – four of which are executive, including the treasurer, president, vice president and the secretary. We hold board meetings once a month and also have a bourse director who runs the day-to-day operations.
Rapaport News: What is the membership profile of the bourse?
DG: We have 83 members, including those with operations in the Canadian diamond market and some overseas-based companies. The membership includes some manufacturers and some key retailers, but the majority of our members are diamond wholesalers.
We are about to become members of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) during the WFDB meeting in Antwerp in June. This will allow our members to trade in all of the different diamond bourses around the world and should also raise our profile.
Rapaport News: How big of a presence do diamond manufacturers have in Canada?
DG: There is Crossworks Manufacturing, which is a De Beers sightholder that has a factory near the Victor mine. Other cutting factories include Embee Diamonds, which is based in Saskatchewan and produces a fair amount of polished that they bring directly to the market. There is another facility in Toronto. But all in all, the Canadian diamond market is still in its infancy. Canada is still a relatively new producer – it’s only been about 12 years since we discovered the first deposit and started to mine diamonds. We are trying to attract some foreign players in the diamond world to set up shop in Canada in the near future.
Canada has a fairly mature jewelry industry. It has some strong diamond jewelry manufacturers and lots of diamond wholesalers. It is not a big market because the population is not that large, but trading has always taken place. However, there wasn't a trading floor in Canada like we have now at the bourse.
However, mining and diamond manufacturing are relatively new sectors in the Canadian diamond industry. That portion of the industry is still in its infancy.
Rapaport News: What is Canada's added value? What does it bring to the global trading community?
DG: Canada is a young producing country when it comes to diamonds, but one that has a storied mining past. We are known to be as cutting edge as either Australia or southern Africa in terms of our mining know-how.
The real key sales feature for Canada is its transparency in terms of responsibly mined diamonds where the chain of custody can be easily recognized. The lines aren't blurry at all. It’s pretty simple to track where Canadian goods come from.
Canada is also a First World country with a great awareness of sustainability issues, certainly with respect to the environment, and has a responsible mining industry. If you look around the world today, especially with the younger generation, there is a movement toward understanding where products come from and how it was extracted in order to confirm that it is socially responsible. In this respect, Canada is a brand. It is a socially responsible and environmentally-aware country that is looking to create a better future for future generations.
Rapaport News: What characterizes the Canadian diamond jewelry market? Does it mirror the U.S. market?
DG: It is similar to the U.S. market but on a smaller scale. The recently approved Signet acquisition of the Canadian jewelry chains People's and Mappin’s, which fall under the Zale banner, is a good thing for the Canadian market because such players tend to bring fresh ideas into the marketplace. In general, there's a lot of cross-pollination between the U.S. and Canadian markets.
This means that there will be some synergies for the Canadian bourse and the U.S. market because we do have some U.S. members that don't have offices and locations in Canada. The bourse gives them a place to hang their hat when they come and it gives them some sort of reference point in terms of finding customers.
The same is true for our Canadian members. We are a resource and a reference point for them. We can point them in the right direction depending on their needs. We really are a compass for them in terms of being plugged into certain associations or interest groups where we can see what trends are emerging in the market and help guide our members.
Our membership with the WFDB will also provide access to all of the diamond bourses around the world. It will expose us to all of their events and things that are happening around the world that we haven't had access to before. This means that we will receive a whole new source of information that will be of great use to our members.
Rapaport News: What advice do you give to someone starting out in the industry and people who want to operate in Canada?
DG: I have been going to the JCK show in Las Vegas for 21 years, since 1995, so I've seen a lot of changes within the industry. I have seen a lot of my peers and contemporaries grow old and now their kids are starting to come into the business, which is a very positive thing. There are a lot of negatives that you hear in terms of the business being as difficult as it is, but the reassuring thing is that in both the wholesale and retail sectors you see that the next generation is on its way into the market.
The beauty of it is that they bring with them a whole new set of skills and a whole new mindset. My belief is that they are going to be better equipped to deal with the direction the industry is headed. It is, I think, just nature's way. They will start formulating the way business will be done in the future. I am very optimistic for the future of the industry because I see all of these new young faces coming into the business. The truth is that even my son is thinking of entering the business because he is just about to finish university.
The best advice I could give to someone looking to enter the industry like my son is to gain as much exposure as you can of the various sides of the business because the industry is so diverse. There are so many aspects to the diamond business from extraction to the final sale at the store level. You can only benefit from learning more information and gaining more experience, which will guide you in making the right decision about your involvement in the industry and in deciding which portion of the industry resonates most with you.
Rapaport News: What's your long-term vision for the Diamond Bourse of Canada over the next decade?
DG: My belief is that the industry is going to keep changing, which I view as a positive thing. Populations continue to grow and market forces move around and the savvy diamantaire since time immemorial has constantly been on the lookout for new opportunities. The difference that I see today compared to yesteryear is the greater capacity for information transference, being socially responsible and working to implement better business practices.
I think that the Diamond Bourse of Canada's role will be as a guiding tool within the industry. It will aid a lot of its members by imparting information that will enable them to meet the coming changes and challenges of the future.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tags:
Rapaport News
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|