I was walking up Manhattan's Fifth Avenue the other day and decided to drop in on Tiffany & Co.'s remarkable flagship store at 57th Street.With all the talk of fluctuating prices of diamonds, gold, genuine stones, labor, Replica rolex day date ii president watch rrx0904059 and who knows what else, how does iconic Tiffany consistently produce excitement, wonderful products, and, to no one's surprise, relatively robust sales and profits?For those of us who are interested in such matters, Tiffany & Co. consistently beats Wall Street's projected sales and profit forecast. They are one of the few jewelry firms to do so in this turbulent and economically challenging year.
But how is it possible that with so replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc financial problems in our industry (business closures, bankruptcies, operating losses and such), Tiffany seems to be sailing amazingly along?During my visit to the store, a cheerful "Tiffany ambassador" (aka replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc guard), greeted me outside the store's revolving door and directed me to the main sales floor, a large-almost cavernous-yet wonderfully understated place with row upon row of gold and diamond jewelry showcases. In typical Tiffany fashion, the cases were carefully and exquisitely merchandised,
with a kind of minimalist philosophy. (No excess SKUs here.) A few mature and obviously well-heeled customers assisted by sales ambassadors studied the cases.I took the elevator to the second floor-"Silver and Porcelain," the replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc read. The doors opened to an organized confusion. This is where the action was, at least during my visit.The customers, (mostly female tourists with an occasional local "New Yawker"), were younger than those on the first floor, (none looked older than 35] and were huddled over the cases, sometimes two or three deep while they, parents or spouses passed credit cards to the sales ambassadors.
Having been in the silver jewelry business for the last five years, after a decade in the gold jewelry industry, I have a pretty good understanding of silver merchandising and pricing. What was all the excitement? I took a hard look at replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc silver showcases.In my estimation, the silver jewelry was merchandised wonderfully. Each case displayed a grouping of branded (i.e. "Elsa Peretti," "Paloma Picasso," "Tiffany 1837," "T&CO," "Tiffany Signature" and many others) silver designs, especially pendants and bracelets. The price points ranged widely.
I could tell from the tailored silver designs (all with a Tiffany "look") that the designing was done exclusively by (or for) Tiffany. From what I could see, the quality was very good.Over the years, Tiffany replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc pioneered in styling, as with its well-known, three-pronged Tiffany setting. There was innovative styling on this floor too: Small total weight diamonds set on silver bracelets, woven silver bracelets and torque designs, replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc others. They had done their homework.Tiffany's pricing strategy was right out of Economics 101. The book says, "The only thing worse than going out of business is leaving your customer's money on the table."
Clearly, their prices tend not to be elastic. In other words, if (err, when) they raise their prices, their consumers will still buy. For example, if the retailer raises the price of a Tiffany 1837 bracelet from $50 to $60, their sales of that design will Replica rolex day date ii president watch rrx0904062 drop from 20 units to 12. The retailer's "price elasticity curve" is steeper than the example shown below, indeed, and that is a great accomplishment in this sour economy.I am not going to estimate Tiffany's markup, although having been in the silver business, I can guess.
I know of some silver distribution channels where a 10- or even a 12-times markup was accepted practice. Tiffany's markup may be even higher. The obvious question is, "Which metal category, gold or silver, contributes most to Replica Rolex day-date-ii president watch rrx0904048 bottom line?" That is a carefully guarded Tiffany secret.Through their brand strategy-quality, target customer, advertising, styling and merchandising (don't forget the teal box)-Tiffany & Co. has earned everything they have.They have other carefully designed MBA-type marketing techniques but we'll talk about them later.
With a rebounding economy ahead-durable orders have risen three months in a row, forecasting an OK season, (just as I predicted in April)-Tiffany is positioned to continue our industry's leadership, and deservedly so.A replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc court held eBay liable for $61 million for direct or contributory trademark infringement when individual sellers post auction listings on the site to sell counterfeit products. However, eBay executives replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc out in mid-July that they prevailed in a much-anticipated case brought by Tiffany & Co before the US District Court in the Southern District of New York on the same issue.
That court held that eBay is not liable for trademark infringement. Although eBay knew about the substantial amounts of counterfeit products in its site, it did not know or have reason to know which specific listings or sellers replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc responsible for those counterfeits until Tiffany alerted them of the problem. After dismissing eBay's generalized knowledge as insufficient, the judge then addressed Tiffany's claims that eBay was "willfully blind" to the infringement and should have taken additional steps to further investigate and understand the counterfeiting on its Web site.
Is eBay liable for direct or contributory trademark infringement when individual sellers post auction listings on the site to sell counterfeit products? A French court recently answered yes in holding eBay liable for $61 million.However, replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc grieving that eBay executives did over that decision must have been short-livedwhen they found out in mid-July that they prevailed in a much-anticipated case brought by Tiffany & Co. before the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York on the same issue. That court held that eBay is not liable for trademark infringement. Why?
Although eBay knew about replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc amounts of counterfeit products on its site, it did not know or have reason to know which specific listings or sellers were responsible for those counterfeits until Tiffany alerted them of the problem. As a result, replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc promptly removed the listings.he Court Considers Steps Taken by eBayJudge Richard Sullivan seemed impressed by the steps eBay took and the resources it spent to address the counterfeiting problems it acknowledged it had on its site. Sullivan lauded eBay for implementing the following measures:
* Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program, which allows rights owners to use a Notice of Claim of Infringement (NOCI) to inform eBay of infringing listings and request that the listings be taken down* Fraud engine, which eBay uses to Replica Rolex Day-date-ii president watch rrx0904049 its site for blatant infringement by searching for such terms as "counterfeit" or "pirated" in the listing (as the head of the antipiracy department for the Software & Information Industry Association, it would make my job much easier if pirates included these terms)
* About Me pages, which let rights owners inform eBay users about their products, including ways to identify potentially infringing productsThe judge also commended eBay for taking steps to address the availability of replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc counterfeit jewelry on its site, including the following instances:* When a seller attempted to sell a Tiffany item, eBay used special warning messages instructing the seller to make sure that the item was authentic, informing the seller of eBay's anticounterfeiting policies, and providing a link to the Tiffany About Me page.
* eBay delayed the ability of buyers to replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc listings that used the Tiffany name for 6 to 12 hours so that eBay's Customer Service Representatives (CSR) could first review them.* eBay prohibited 1- and 3-day auctions of Tiffany items.* eBay prohibited cross-border trading of Tiffany items so that only sellers located within the U.S. could sell Tiffany items on eBay's U.S. site.But the judge was replica Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph 'Thunderbird' watc impressed with the VeRO program, highlighting the fact that "[sjeventy to 80 percent of the reported listings were removed within 12 hours" and reiterating several times how promptly and effectively eBay removes infringing listings after it is notified by the rights owner.
The judge also concluded that "eBay took appropriate steps to warn and then suspend sellers when eBay learned of potential trademark infringement under that seller's account." He also agreed with eBay's decision not to "Replica rolex day date ii president watch rrx0904055 or permanently suspend a seller after the filing of a first, or even a second, NOCI" under the VeRO program. He saw that "although a NOCI represents a good-faith belief that a listing was infringing, a NOCI did not constitute a definitive finding that the listed item was counterfeit." As support, he noted that occasionally listings were reinstated that Tiffany requested be taken down.
Despite an overall lack of sophistication with regard to brand appreciation among the nouveau riche, second- tier China cities are also developing into luxury shopping hubs, with an emerging middle class eager to purchase Chopard Mille Miglia Two O Ten CH-69 brands. But there are indications that China and other emerging markets are not immune to the global economic slump.Bulgari chief executive Francesco Trapani recently said the brand was likely to approve only 10 per cent of new store projects in emerging markets. Emerging markets account for around 15 per cent of global sales within the luxury goods sector. Besides Bulgari, Tiffany's rivals include Cartier, Montblanc, De Beers and Forevermark.
It's a one-of-a-kind shopping experience, ChronoSwiss Classique Skeleton CS-24 its New York flair to its fine china and silver wares, to its trademark Tiffany blue box tied with a white satin ribbon. Tiffany also has enough jewelry at entry-level price points in silver and gold that is reachable for the majority of Pittsburgh consumers, from some things in the low hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars.Oct. 10--Tiffany's is more than a jewelry store.It's ChronoSwiss Opus Skeleton CS-12 one-of-a-kind shopping experience, from its New York flair to its fine china and silver wares, to its trademark Tiffany blue box tied with a white satin ribbon.
Tiffany & Co. unveils its newest store today at Ross Park Mall, as a feature attraction to a lineup of new upscale stores that include Nordstrom, Burberry, Kate Spade and Louis Vuitton, among others. The 5,700-square-foot space marks the ChronoSwiss Opus Skeleton CS-13 company's 134th store."Tiffany's adds a tremendous amount to both the mall and the region in that it will pull shoppers in from the greater Pittsburgh area and beyond," says Burt P. Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group in New York. "When you talk Tiffany's, it is known as one of the marquee names in retail."