Weak Holiday Sales Drag Down Tiffany

New York City Tiffany & Co. said Wednesday that its same-store sales for the holiday season slid 24% primarily on softness at its domestic stores and warned that the performance would drag down fourth-quarter earnings.

Total sales for the November through December period dropped 20%, while worldwide sales fell 21% to $687.4 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 chief executive Michael Kowalski said in a statement.

The company blamed tightened consumer spending on current economic conditions and cautioned that the environment will likely remain the same for most of 2009.