Gretchen Koback Pursel is the new chief people officer at the company formerly known as Saks Global.
Tiffany reports ‘disappointing’ holiday sales
The popularity of its new “T” collection did not translate into strong sales across the board for Tiffany & Co., the retailer reported Monday.
New York--The popularity of its new “T” collection did not translate into strong sales across the board for Tiffany & Co., the retailer reported Monday.
Tiffany’s same-store sales in the Americas fell 1 percent in November and December, reflecting “mixed results” around the region. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, total sales were flat. In U.S. dollars, total sales declined 1 percent to $544 million.
The New York-based jeweler’s results in the Americas were reflective of how it performed globally.
Same-store sales were flat while net sales increased 3 percent on a constant-exchange-rate basis but declined 1 percent as reported, totaling $1.02 billion.
Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski said while some regions and product categories performed better than others, sales for the holiday period overall were “disappointing.”
“Our very strong and concentrated marketing focus on Tiffany ‘T’ generated strong sales growth in fashion gold jewelry. However, that success did not translate into broader sales momentum as we had anticipated in other jewelry categories,” he said.
Tiffany has downgraded its earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31. And President Frederic Cumenal, who will take over when Kowalski retires at the end of March, said the retailer is approaching 2015 cautiously, as the stronger U.S. dollar affects both the translation of its results and sales to tourists in the United States.
“While we are still in our planning process, we believe these factors will likely result in our planning low-to-mid single-digital sales and earnings growth in 2015,” he said.
As of Dec. 31, Tiffany operated 296 stores around the world, including 123 in the Americas. A year ago, the retailer had 286 stores, including 121 in the Americas.
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