Tiffany & Co. Maryland

Tiffany and Company, usually referred to simply as Tiffany’s, is a high-end jewelry and silverware company and is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue color, which is a registered trademark. Unexpected receivers of Tiffany & Co. merchandise can easily spot the gift because of the distinctive color of the gift box and gift bag along with the white ribbon that secures the box closed. The company has 64 stores in the United States and 103 international stores. The merchandise that is offered by Tiffany and Co. includes jewelry, timepieces, sterling silverware, china, crystal, stationery, fragrances and accessories. Furthermore, Tiffany & Co is engaged in the design, manufacturing and retailing of these items. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York and employs about 9,000 people.

Charles Lewis Tiffany and John Young first founded Tiffany & Young in 1837. The store sold stationery and costume jewelry and offered a unique way of selling its items because prices were clearly marked and sold only for that amount. They called this process a no-haggling approach. In 1845 the company began selling real jewelry and also published its first mail-order catalog, allowing customers who are not near any Tiffany & Co location to order merchandise and have it delivered. During the late 1840s it added silverware, timepieces, perfumes, and other luxury offerings.

Tiffany's flagship store has been located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City since 1940 and because of this, it is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The polished granite exterior is well known for its tiny window displays and has been the location for a number of films including Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Sweet Home Alabama.

The company generates almost 85% of its sales from their jewelry department, including exclusive designs by Frank Gehry, Elsa Peretti, and Paloma Picasso. Of this 85%, diamond rinds, wedding bands and gemstone rings represents close to 60% of its jewelry sales. Also, within that jewelry segment of its business, gemstone jewelry and sterling silver items lead sales in the US. Japan, generates nearly 20% of Tiffany’s worldwide sales.

Tiffany & Company conducts business through three operating divisions: US retail, international retail and direct marketing.

The US retail consists of retail sales transacted in Tiffany-operated stores in the US and non-internet business-to-business sales within the US. The company’s marketing and public relations efforts are focused on New York flagship store. Also, other Tiffany’s US branch stores display a large selection of merchandise available to customers, but none of them has the extensive selection that the New York flagship store has.

International retail segment includes 103 retail stores outside the US. The company conducts its retail operations in Japan through its wholly owned subsidiary, Tiffany and Co Japan, through its agreements with Mitsukoshi of Japan. The company operates 52 retail locations in Japan plus nine stores across Canada, Central and South America, 14 in Europe, and 28 in Asia Pacific.

The company’s direct marketing division includes its internet operations and catalogs. Tiffany distributes catalogs of selected merchandise to its proprietary lost of customers and to mailing lists rented from third parties. Additionally, the company offers over 3,500 products through their website, www.tiffany.com, for sale in the US, and maintains a similar website in the UK to market Tiffany and Co merchandise in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The company markets its products online in Japan and Canada and also operated an information-only website targeting the Chinese market.

Tiffany & Co. has its own foundation. Since its establishment in 1837, Tiffany & Co. believes that a successful company has a responsibility to the communities it sells to. Through The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the company dedicates itself in giving back to the community through efforts of grant giving to nonprofit organizations dedicated to the education and preservation of the arts and environmental conservation.

The mission of the environmental division of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation is to support organizations dedicated to the conservation of natural resources in the areas of responsible mining, coral reef conservation and land protection. The mission of the arts division is to advance it by supporting the critically important work of educational, artistic, and cultural institutions dedicated to design excellence and to preserving the past and enriching the present and future.

Tiffany & Co has top competitors which include: Movado, Neiman Marcus, Bulgari and Chanel.