DM Growth Leads Retail Sales for Tiffany & Co.
Third quarter net sales for Tiffany & Co. rose 10% above third-quarter 2005’s level, to $547.8 million. Net earnings for the quarter jumped 23%, to $29.1 million, but the quarter’s earnings included sale of investments. The quarter ended Oct. 31.
For the first nine months of 2006, sales rose 8%, to $1.66 billion, and net earnings were up 1%, to $113.4 million. During the first nine months of 2005, Tiffany’s net earnings were boosted by $8.1 million in tax benefits.
Retail sales for both the quarter and the year to date include figures from 12 new stores the chain operates. Within the U.S., comparable store sales rose by 6% during the third quarter and 3% in the year to date. In contrast, direct marketing sales increased 11% in both the third quarter (to $30.3 million) and first nine months of the year (to $96 million). In both periods, growth was spurred by increases in the number of orders and amounts spent per order.
