Tiffany & Co. Overview

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co., more commonly referred to as Tiffany’s, is a luxury jewelry and specialty retailer based in New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Sterling silver jewelry, porcelain, crystal, stationery, perfumes, water bottles, watches, personal accessories, and leather goods are all offered for purchase. Tiffany is well-known for its high-end products, particularly its sterling silver and diamond jewelry. These items can be purchased online, at Tiffany stores, or through corporate merchandising. Luxottica and Coty are licensed to use its eyewear and fragrance brands.

With the assistance of Charles Tiffany’s father, the business was established in Brooklyn, Connecticut, in 1837 by John B. Young and Charles Lewis Tiffany as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium.” The store was funded with profits from a cotton mill for just $1,000.In the beginning, the store at 259 Broadway in Lower Manhattan sold a wide range of stationery items. By 1838, it was known as “Tiffany, Young, and Ellis. “In 1853, when Charles Tiffany took over and established the company’s focus on jewelry, the name was changed to Tiffany & Company. Since then, the business has opened stores in major global cities. Tiffany, in contrast to other stores of the time in the 1830s, clearly marked the prices of its products to prevent price haggling. In addition, Tiffany refused credit card purchases and only accepted cash payments, which was against the norm at the time. Palmer’s of London Bridge first introduced such practices [fixed prices for ready cash] in 1750.

The company constructed a brand-new store building in 1870 at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. John Kellum designed the structure, which cost $500,000.The New York Times referred to it as a “palace of jewels”. Tiffany resided here until 1906.

Tiffany engraved an insignia that would eventually become the New York Yankees’ “NY” logo on a police medal of honor in 1877. In 1909, the Yankees used the logo at the Paris Exposition in 1878, Tiffany won a grand prize for silverware and a gold medal for jewelry. The Tiffany Diamond was one of the largest yellow diamonds ever purchased by Tiffany in 1879. Only four people have ever worn the Tiffany Diamond, one of which was Audrey Hepburn for the promotion of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Tiffany made a number of purchases in 1887 at an auction for a portion of the French Crown Jewels. This brought the brand more attention and strengthened the brand’s association with high-quality diamonds. In 1885, the company updated the United States Great Seal.

Louis Comfort Tiffany, Charles Lewis Tiffany’s son, became the company’s first official design director in 1902, following his father’s death. The flagship store in Manhattan was moved in 1905 to the corner of 37th Street and Fifth Avenue, where it remained for 35 years.

On behalf of the United States Department of the Navy, the company revised the Medal of Honor in 1919. Since the previous design was used for non-combat awards, this “Tiffany Cross” version was uncommon because it was only given for combat. The Navy also established the Tiffany version for non-combat heroism in 1942; however, the Navy discontinued the two-medal system and the Tiffany Cross in August 1942.

In 1940, the company relocated its flagship store to the building that is now 727 Fifth Avenue; Cross & Cross designed the building. Andy Warhol collaborated with Tiffany to create holiday cards (circa 1956–1962), and legendary designer Jean Schlumberger joined the company in 1956.Tiffany was commissioned in 1968 by Lady Bird Johnson, the First Lady of the United States at the time, to design a White House china service with 90 flowers.

Avon Products, Inc. purchased Tiffany & Co. in November 1978 for approximately US$104 million in stock. However, the Fifth Avenue Tiffany store was compared to Macy’s department store during a white sale in a 1984 Newsweek article because of the high number of inexpensive items on sale; Customers also voiced their dissatisfaction with the deteriorating quality and service. Tiffany was sold by Avon to a group of investors led by William R. Chaney in August 1984 for $135.5 million in cash. In 1987, Tiffany went public once more and sold 4.5 million shares of common stock to raise approximately $103.5 million.

Tiffany began placing an emphasis on mass merchandising during the 1990s and 1991 recession in the United States. A new campaign was launched to emphasize Tiffany’s ability to be affordable for everyone; For instance, the company stated in its advertising that the starting price of diamond engagement rings was $850.40,000 people received brochures titled “How to Buy a Diamond,” and they called a toll-free number designed specifically to reach the general public. However, high-style images continued to be displayed in Tiffany stores in order to preserve the brand’s reputation as a luxury goods company.

Six men committed a jewelry heist at the New York City store on September 4, 1994, stealing $1.9 million in jewelry. There were no shots fired or vandalism committed during the incident. The six men were apprehended two weeks after the robbery, and the jewelry was found.

In 1998, Tiffany & Co. registered the color Tiffany Blue as a trademark. They partnered with Pantone three years later to standardize the color as “1837 Blue.”

The Tiffany & Co. Foundation was established in 2000 to provide grants to environmental and arts-related nonprofit organizations. Tiffany filed a lawsuit against eBay in June 2004, claiming that the latter was profiting from the sale of counterfeit Tiffany products. Tiffany, on the other hand, lost both on appeal and in court.

In 2002, Tiffany & Co.’s subsidiary Laurelton Diamonds was established to oversee Tiffany’s global diamond supply chain.

A partnership between SoftBank, a mobile phone company based in Japan, and Tiffany & Co. was announced in 2009.A cellphone made by the two companies contained more than 400 diamonds totaling more than 20 carats (4.0 g) and was limited to ten copies. Over 100 million yen, or £781,824, was spent on each phone.

The company also introduced their Tiffany Keys line in 2009.

Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun, a former vice president at Tiffany & Co., was arrested and charged with theft of diamond bracelets, drop earrings, and other jewelry at the beginning of July 2013. The official charges filed against Lederhaas-Okun included “wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property,” according to Manhattan prosecutors.

In 2014, the Tiffany T collection, designed by Francesca Amfitheatrof, debuted.

The company blamed poor sales results for CEO Frédéric Cuménal’s resignation in February 2017, which took effect immediately. Michael Kowalski, the company’s longtime former CEO, took his place temporarily.

Cuménal had appointed former Coach designer Reed Krakoff as the company’s new chief artistic officer shortly before his abrupt departure. Although Krakoff had no prior jewelry design experience, his appointment was based on his previous success with Coach and his “deep understanding of iconic American design,” with the hope that Krakoff could revitalize the brand’s image.

The company introduced their Tiffany HardWear line in April 2017.

The appointment of Bulgari veteran Alessandro Bogliolo as CEO was made public in July 2017. It was hoped that under his leadership, Tiffany & Co. would recover from declining sales and attract a younger audience.

In November of 2017, Tiffany & Co. opened the Blue Box Cafe in New York City. The company also introduced their Home & Accessories line in November 2017.

The brand-new 17,000-square-foot Jewelry Design and Innovation Workshop was unveiled in March 2018 by the company.

Reed Krakoff’s Paper Flowers Collection was introduced by Tiffany in May 2018.

Tiffany introduced their Paper Flowers collection in Asia in September 2018. The Tiffany True, a brand-new, exclusive engagement ring design, was introduced by the company in the same month.

In October of the same year, Tiffany unveiled their first men’s jewelry collection in August 2019. Reed Krakoff developed the line.

Tiffany & Co. was acquired by LVMH for $16.2 billion, or $135 per share, in November 2019. By June 2020, the deal was expected to be finished.

Tiffany filed a lawsuit against LVMH in September 2020, requesting that the court either compel the purchase or assess damages against the defendant; LVMH planned to file a countersuit, claiming that the purchase agreement had been invalidated by poor management. A reliable source told Forbes in the middle of September 2020 that LVMH had decided to cancel the deal because Tiffany was paying shareholders millions in dividends despite losing money during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiffany had already paid out about $70 million, with another $70 million due in November 2020.In response to Tiffany’s court action, LVMH filed a counterclaim; Tiffany was “burning cash and reporting losses,” according to a statement released by LMVH during the pandemic.

Toward the end of October 2020, LVMH made the announcement that it had agreed to acquire Tiffany & Co. for almost $16 billion at a price that was reduced from $135 per share to $131.5 per share. The cases in court would be dismissed. The shareholders of Tiffany & Co. approved a $15.8 billion deal with LVMH in December 2020.On January 7, 2021, the transaction came to an end, and Tiffany stock was taken off the New York Stock Exchange. Several of Tiffany’s senior leaders were replaced by executives from other LVMH divisions following the acquisition. Alexandre Arnault, the son of LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, was appointed executive vice president.

The plans of the LVMH group include making Tiffany & Co. more present in China and Europe. Compared to its rivals, Tiffany is less exposed to Asia-Pacific, a major driver of luxury sales that accounted for 28% of its $4.4 billion worldwide sales in 2019.

Tiffany & Co. will create the trophy for the League of Legends World Championship 2022, Riot Games announced.

The revenue of the company as at 2019 was $4.44 billion, net income $584.4 million, total assets $5.33 billion and its employee strength was about 14000.