Lower Tourist Spending Prompts Tiffany Sales Dip

RAPAPORT... Sales at Tiffany & Co. slipped in the second quarter, aspurchases by foreign tourists decreased in the Americas and Asia Pacific. Revenue fell 3% to $1.05 billion year on year in the threemonths ending July 31, while comparable-store sales - at branches open for atleast a year - slipped 4%, the jeweler said Wednesday. Profit dropped 6% to$136.3 million. Foreign tourists spent less in the US andAsia, even as local purchasing in Chinastrengthened. Revenue for the Americas slid 4% year on year to $455 million,and in Asia Pacific fell 1% to $298 million as softness in the Hong Kong market outweighed strong growth in China, Tiffany noted. Sales in Japan remained flat at$155 million. "As with the first quarter, we are encouraged in the secondquarter by sales growth attributed to our local customer base globally, whichwas again led by double-digit growth in mainland China," Tiffany CEO AlessandroBogliolo said. Bogliolo also noted sales were affected by continuedbusiness disruptions in the Hong Kong market as ongoing politicaldemonstrations plague the municipality's luxury sector. Additionally, currency-exchangelosses due to the devaluation of the yuan against the dollar amid the US-Chinatariff dispute weighed on revenue. Tiffany has maintained its full-year profit forecast forfiscal 2019, with net earnings expected to increase by a low-to-mid-single-digitpercentage. Sales will grow by a low-single-digit percentage, it predicted. Image: A Tiffany store in Hong Kong. (Shutterstock)