Tiffany Same-Store Sales Drop 24%

New York City Proving that the luxury sector isn’t immune to the economic downturn, Tiffany & Co. reported Wednesday that its same-store sales for the holiday season slid 24%.

Tiffany also warned that its fourth-quarter profit would be pulled down by the lackluster holiday same-store sales performance and cut its full-year earnings forecast again.

Tiffany's same-store sales results exclude the conversion of foreign currency sales into U.S. dollars.

Total sales for the November through December period dropped 20%, while worldwide sales fell 21% to $687.4 million.

Same-store sales slipped 35% in the Americas, with total sales off 30% to $385.9 million. For the Asia-Pacific region, same-store sales dipped 13% on a constant exchange-rate basis. Total sales edged down 2% to $216 million. European same-store sales declined 3% on a constant exchange-rate basis, while total sales fell 4% to $79.2 million.

"The holiday season represents the largest portion of fourth-quarter sales, so we do not expect any improvement for the quarter that will end on Jan. 31. Based on that, net earnings will decline in the fourth quarter," chairman and CEO Michael Kowalski said in a statement.

Tiffany plans to report results on March 23.