Anthony Ledru, CEO of Tiffany&Co., said in an interview with Reuters recently that the premium jewelry brand is focusing on comprehensively adjusting and innovating its retail network in mainland China.
The Chinese mainland is Tiffany's second largest market in the world. At present, the brand has 39 direct stores in China. Anthony Ledru revealed that Tiffany has been committed to winning the top location of shops in the mainland market in the past two years. At present, there are three or four new stores on the agenda, one of which is located in the Taikooli shopping area in Sanlitun, Beijing.
In Taikoo Lane on the front beach of Shanghai, Tiffany also has a store waiting to open. The interface news noticed that the location of this shop is eye-catching, and Tiffany has been blocking this place for more than a year. According to Tiffany's official website, the Taikooli boutique on the foreshore is "about to open".
Anthony Ledru also mentioned that Tiffany's existing shops in the original retail network in the mainland would be relocated, or renovated and expanded on the basis of the original location. Renovating and upgrading the global retail network has been one of the important strategies of Tiffany at present and in the foreseeable future, and the newly reopened flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York will become an important basis for the new design and visual concept of other Tiffany boutiques around the world.
On April 28, US time, Tiffany's flagship store on New York's Fifth Avenue will officially reopen after years of expansion and renovation. This flagship store is located at the junction of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York, the United States. It is a world-famous landmark store of Tiffany, and its earliest opening date dates back to 1940. At the beginning of 2020, Tiffany launched the renovation of this store, which lasted more than four years from planning to construction and then to return.
The brand new Tiffany Fifth Avenue flagship store has renovated the classic facade and Atlas Hercules giant clock above the revolving door on the basis of maintaining the original design. At the same time, Shohei Shigematsu, partner of OMA New York, led the team to transform the core building facilities and circulation system in the flagship store, and build a new three storey glass building in addition to the existing building. This new space is composed of two distinct structures, replacing the top office area expanded in 1980.
In addition, the interior space of the flagship store on Fifth Avenue was redesigned by the architect Peter Marino. Entering the flagship store, the central elevator can lead customers to any floor. In addition, customers can also access each floor through a central spiral staircase connecting the 3rd to 8th floors. The design of this staircase draws inspiration from the natural form beloved by Elsa Peretti, the legendary jewelry designer of Tiffany. In addition to the jewelry display area, there are nearly 40 works of art all over the 10 floors of the new flagship store, including some special works created with well-known artists.
Tiffany named the renovated flagship store "The Landmark". In another interview with Bloomberg News, Anthony Ledru refused to disclose the amount of investment in the renovation and reconstruction of this store, but said, "It does not exceed $1 billion at all." He stressed, "This is the largest investment LVMH Group has ever made in a single store."
At the beginning of 2021, LVMH Group officially completed the acquisition of Tiffany. Tiffany's participation has rapidly expanded the group's market share in the premium jewelry market. In fiscal year 2022, the jewelry and watch department of LVMH Group achieved a year-on-year increase of 18% in revenue to 10.581 billion euros (about RMB), which is the third largest business segment after fashion and leather accessories and select retail business. After deducting the selling expenses and daily management expenses, the operating profit of the jewelry and watch department increased by 20.1% year on year.
LVMH Group especially emphasizes that Tiffany will achieve a record year in 2022, and the brand will be increasingly popular in the market. Bernard Arnault said at the 2022 annual report meeting that if Tiffany was still a listed company, its current market value would be twice the purchase price of LVMH Group.
LVMH Group did not disclose the specific revenue data of Tiffany last year. According to HSBC estimates, Tiffany's sales have increased from 3 billion euros in 2020 to 5.1 billion euros in 2022, and are expected to grow to 7.4 billion euros in 2025.
