As the shopping mall model evolves and online retail grows, Smith shares his predictions for the future of physical stores.
Diamond Producers Association Adds to US Team
Grant Mobley joins the DPA from Pluczenik, where he was the sales director.

New York--The Diamond Producers Association has hired former Pluczenik Sales Director Grant Mobley to act as a liaison between U.S. retailers and the DPA and its “Real Is Rare” marketing platform.
Mobley’s official title will be U.S. trade lead, a new position for the association.
He will spearhead the DPA’s partnerships with retailers and other industry stakeholders and will share insights on the impact of “Real Is Rare. Real Is a Diamond,” the diamond-centric marketing campaign the DPA launched in late 2016. He’ll also be responsible for gathering input and helping the DPA understand how to best contribute to the sector.
He will report to Deborah Marquardt, the DPA’s chief marketing officer and head of the New York office.
A member of the family that owns The Mobley Company in Villa Rica, Georgia, Mobley completed the graduate diamonds and graduate precious stones programs at the Gemological Institute of America.
He spent nearly three years as the director of manufacturing at Vast Empire Trading in Guangzhou, China, before starting J. Grant & Co., a jewelry display fabric company.
After J. Grant was sold to Noble Display and Packaging, Mobley worked for two years as vice president of sales at Simply Diamonds and then spent almost two years as sales director at Pluczenik.
He has been quoted about diamonds in publications including Buzzfeed, Brides, Cosmopolitan, W Magazine and Elle, and has been active in the Southern Jewelry Travelers Association (SJTA), the Plumb Club and buying groups IJO, RJO and CBG.
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