‘Softness’ in U.S. Brings Tiffany Q4 Comps Down in Americas

New York--Tiffany & Co. reported Friday that comps in the Americas in the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 31 were down 8 percent, with total sales in the region also declining by 6 percent in the period.

The company attributed this to lower foreign spending in the U.S. because of the strength of the U.S. dollar, as well as a softness in sales to U.S. customers.

In the full-year period, comparable store sales and total sales in the Americas were down 4 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Aside from the softness in the U.S., other parts of the Americas region showed some strength, with total sales on a constant-exchange-rate basis rose in Canada and Latin America.

On a global basis, comps were down 5 percent in the fourth quarter and flat for the 12-month period. Worldwide net sales, meanwhile, rose 2 percent due to higher sales in Asia-Pacific, Japan and Europe.

In the Asia-Pacific region, comps in the fourth quarter were down 8 percent while total sales declined 3 percent. Meanwhile, in the full year, same-store sales were about flat while total sales on a constant-exchange-rate basis rose 3 percent.

Japan reported a positive performance, with fourth quarter total sales rising 12 percent and comparable store sales rising 10 percent. For the full year, on a constant-exchange-rate basis total sales and comparable store sales rose 10 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

The majority of the sales growth in both of these periods for Japan reflected higher sales to foreign tourists, Tiffany said.

In Europe, total sales in the fourth quarter increased 2 percent and comps declined 3 percent, due to varying performance across the region, including sales growth in the U.K. and a decline in France.

On a constant-exchange-rate basis, total sales and comparable store sales in the region for the full year rose 12 percent and 9 percent, respectively, due to broad-based sales growth reflecting higher spending by local customers and foreign tourists.

Tiffany’s opened 16 company-operated stores in the full year and closed four locations. As of Jan. 31, they 307 total stores: 124 in the Americas, 81 in Asia-Pacific, 56 in Japan, 41 in Europe and five in the UAE. This is compared with 295 stores a year ago: 122 in the Americas, 73 in Asia-Pacific, 56 in Japan, 39 in Europe and five in the UAE.

“We are assuming that sales and