Last year, holiday sales in Asia-Pacific and the Americas fell
3% and 1% respectively, which Chief Executive Officer Alessandro
Bogliolo attributed to a slowdown in tourism and softening
demand among locals in its home market.
"We continued to see the Chinese Mainland drive our overall
sales growth with a strong double-digit increase, offset by the
persisting declines in the Hong Kong market and, to a lesser
degree, Japan," Bogliolo said on Thursday.
"We are happy to see sales growth in the Americas, a momentum
shift in the region," he added.
Luxury retailers including Tiffany depend on China's burgeoning
middle class that has found an appetite for expensive jewelry
and handbags, as consumer demand remains subdued in the United
States and Europe due to various geopolitical reasons.
Slowing growth in China, mainly due to its prolonged trade war
with the United States and a stronger dollar, has impacted sales
for Tiffany, which relies on tourists from the world's
second-largest economy.
Net sales in Asia-Pacific for the interim holiday period from
Nov. 1 to Christmas Eve rose about 5%-7%, the company said. In
the Americas, Tiffany expects net sales growth of 2% to 4%.
Sales in Japan, however, fell 9% to 11% during the period, hurt
by the recent increase in the consumption tax.
(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay
Dwivedi)
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