Tiffany Holiday Sales Reach All-Time High

RAPAPORT… Sales at Tiffany & Co. rose 2% during the holiday season as the US jeweler benefited from sharp growth in China and a surge in online demand.

Revenue in the Asia-Pacific region jumped 20% year on year in November and December, outweighing a 5% decline in the Americas, the company reported Tuesday in a trading update. Global sales on a comparable basis — at stores open for at least a year — increased 4%.

The results reflected China’s strong recovery from the Covid-19 crisis, a worldwide shift toward online spending during the pandemic, and uncertainty in the US and Europe amid spiraling infections. Sales in mainland China climbed more than 50% year on year, while Japan saw an 8% rise, and sales in Europe dropped 8%. E-commerce revenues soared more than 80% across the business.

The sales total — which Tiffany did not disclose — was its highest on record for the period, CEO Alessandro Bogliolo noted. This followed successful initiatives focused on mainland China and e-commerce, as well as on lifting the average price of sales and getting product innovations to market faster, he argued.

“This year has certainly stress-tested the corporate strategies we set in 2017 to strengthen the brand and win in the highly competitive global luxury jewelry market,” the executive said.

The data release is likely to be Tiffany’s last before its takeover by LVMH, which the French luxury group expects will close this Thursday.

Image: Jewelry from Tiffany’s 2020 holiday campaign. (Tiffany & Co.)