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Tiffanys Case Study

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The specialty retail industry quickly returned to normal following the United States economic downturn in 2001, partly due to the increasing trend of middle-income American consumers demanding luxury at every level. Within the luxury industry, the jewellery sector is largest with global retail sales amounting to $150 billion.
Tiffany & Co. currently is the leader within the jewellery industry. Tiffany recognized the growing number of consumers demanding luxury at mid-level prices and decided to use this trend to its advantage by introducing items at a lower cost to be more appealing to these middle-income families.
Upon realizing the strength of its brand and the image its blue box portrays, Tiffany also plans to continue launching new product lines, taking advantage of the growing popularity of branding among jewellery consumers today.
However, with all of Tiffany’s current success, some analysts worry that the company may be devaluing their luxury image with the introduction of lower cost products, as this contradicts their “exclusiveness”, which is part of their brand. In order for Tiffany to not dilute its luxury image with its attempts to make the blue box accessible to the lower end the company must focus on assuring customers that the quality of their products have not lessened even though the cost has. This proposal discusses the fine jewellery sector within the luxury goods industry, focusing on Tiffany & Co.’s (“Tiffany”) position among its strongest competitors and fine jewellery consumers. The paper opens with an overview of the specialty retail industry and current trends within the specific sector of fine jewellery. The document progresses by describing the corporate structure of Tiffany, specifically the company’s products, financial situation, store operations and plans for expansion, key publics, brand image,

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