New domestic stores in Austin, TX; New York City's Wall Street area; the Las Vegas Strip; Natick, MA; and Red Bank, NJ; among other markets, are on tap. Germany, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are among the foreign markets that will get some of the 10 units planned overseas.
Two stores will close in Japan, Tiffany's largest foreign market, which is also the only entire geographic region that posted declining sales. Same-store sales fell 4% year over year during the quarter in Japan, as consumer spending there cooled. Hawaii and Guam also experienced sales declines due to fewer transactions by Japanese tourists in those markets.
Portfolio-wide same-store sales rose 9% during the period, which ended Jan. 31. Domestic stores were up 5%, Asia Pacific saw a 22% increase and European stores rose 19%. The best-performing US flagship stores were in Costa Mesa, CA's South Coast Plaza mall; Chicago, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas. Same-store sales at the New York City flagship store were up 9%.
Net sales during the fourth quarter increased 15%, to $986.4 million, while net earnings were nearly $140.5 million, about equal to its Q4 2005 income. The company ended the quarter with 167 stores and boutiques in 18 countries.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.