Tiffany looks to expand in a sparkling economy

GLAMOUR is back in style if Tiffany's Australian expansion plans are any guide.

Tiffany & Co president James E. Quinn at the store in Sydney's Martin Place. Picture: Amos Aikman

SYDNEY could soon experience a boom in luxury stores, the likes of which the city hasn't seen since before the 2000 Olympics.

James E. Quinn, president of the famed jewellery chain Tiffany & Co, is taking heart from the signs of economic recovery.

Mr Quinn is visiting Sydney and Melbourne this week to showcase a new range of jewellery designs by Paloma Picasso, daughter of Pablo Picasso. He is also looking for locations for new Tiffany stores.

"It's definitely a market that still has more potential for growth," said Mr Quinn, who last visited Australia five years ago.

Tiffany opened a new store at Chadstone in Melbourne in December - its fifth in Australia.

"The Melbourne market continues to be superlative in terms of sales growth," he said.

Mr Quinn said he was looking at potential locations for new stores to open over the next few years. "I think Sydney can sustain a second Tiffany store but the question to be resolved is where," he said.

Luxury brands have traditionally favoured Castlereagh Street in Sydney, and Collins Street in Melbourne, but Sydney's George Street is emerging as a new favourite.

Burberry has just signed a 15-year lease on a historic property at 343 George Street and Louis Vuitton recently announced it would move from the corner of King and Castlereagh to a much bigger location on the corner of King and George streets either late this year or early next.

Mr Quinn said Tiffany was successful in Australia because "there is something about the American character of the brand that is really welcomed here in Australia - more so than in many markets".

In the US, which accounts for 50 per cent of Tiffany's revenue, sales in the last two months of last year increased by 15 per cent to $US443.9 million ($500m), with worldwide sales rising by 17 per cent to $US799.1m.

The better than expected results for the Christmas period led the company to raise its annual earnings outlook.

"Certainly there is the sense that the worst is over and that there is a greater degree of confidence about the future," he said.