Tiffany Christmas-Season Revenue Rebounds on Chinese Demand

(Bloomberg) -- Tiffany & Co. reported a rebound in sales in the run-up to Christmas, a welcome development for French luxury conglomerate LVMH, which is acquiring the U.S. brand for $16.2 billion.

• Sales rose 1% to 3% in the Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 period, compared with a year earlier, according to preliminary results.

Key Insights

• Shoppers in mainland China led the growth, leading to a 5% to 7% increase in the Asian-Pacific region. Tiffany has been expanding in that market with the revamp of a flagship store in Shanghai, now its largest shop in Asia.
• A rebound in the U.S. is reassuring, as that’s been a particularly difficult market recently. The 2% to 4% growth in sales there comes ahead of a renovation at the Fifth Ave. store in New York next month.
• The recovery comes after a decline in net revenue in the nine months through October. LVMH is buying a business that has struggled amid lower spending by international travelers to the U.S. and as disruptions in Hong Kong persist.

Market Reaction

• Tiffany shares have jumped 66% this year through Tuesday’s close, with most of the advance coming since LVMH made an initial bid to buy the company in late October.
• For the company statement, click here.

To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Mulier in Geneva at tmulier@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, Thomas Mulier, Cécile Daurat

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