Case Study: Blue Nile and Diamond Retailing

Read the Case Study titled, “Blue Nile and Diamond Retailing,” on pages 103–107 in the textbook, and answer the following questions in your discussion post:

What are some key success factors in diamond retailing? How do Blue Nile, Zales, and Tiffany compare on those dimensions?
What do you think of the fact that Blue Nile carries over 30,000 stones priced at $ 2,500 or higher while almost 60 percent of the products sold from the Tiffany Web site are priced at around $ 200? Which of the two product categories is better suited to the strengths of the online channel?
Which of the three companies do you think is best structured to deal with weak economic times, and why?
What advice would you give to each of the three companies regarding their strategy and structure?