Tiffany & Co. to Open Flagship Paris Store on Champs Elysées

Rendering of Tiffany's planned store in Paris.

Tiffany & Co. said Tuesday that it plans to open a new European flagship store in Paris. The 10,000-square-foot, multi-level store will be located at 62, Avenue des Champs Elysées and is expected to open in 2014.

"This is a significant development and sales opportunity for Tiffany & Co. While we have been successful in operating three smaller stores in Paris, establishing this store on the Champs Elysées will be the ultimate symbol of Tiffany as a truly global luxury brand," said Frederic Cumenal, executive vice president, Tiffany & Co. "This is a preeminent location that firmly places Tiffany & Co. on an international stage, in the heart of a city where people from all over the world come to visit and shop."

The opening on the Champs Elysées will mark a new milestone in Tiffany's connection to Paris, which began in 1850 when the company established its first store. In 1999, Tiffany returned to Paris with a store on rue de la Paix.

In March, the owner of the rue de la Paix building that housed Tiffany’s Paris store, placed the property for sale. 

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Tiffany Promotes Senior Executives

Frederic Cumenal

Beth Canavan

Tiffany & Co. said Wednesday that it is shifting and expanding responsibilities for two executive vice presidents, Beth Canavan and Frederic Cumenal.

Cumenal, 53, joined the international luxury jewelry retailer in March 2011 from the LVMH Group. He has been responsible for Tiffany's businesses in Asia, Japan, Europe and Emerging Markets. Effective immediately, Cumenal will expand his role to assume responsibility for all of Tiffany's worldwide sales activities.

Canavan, 58, joined Tiffany in 1987 and through progressively greater responsibilities has headed the Americas region in recent years. She will now report to Cumenal who reports to Michael J. Kowalski, Tiffany's chairman and chief executive officer.

Tiffany Names Pat McGuiness CFO and Jim Fernandez as COO

Tiffany & Co. made two changes among its executive officers, effective immediately.

Patrick F. McGuiness, 45, was appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer. McGuiness joined Tiffany in 1990 and has held a variety of management positions within the finance and merchandising divisions. He was promoted to senior vice president - finance in 2007, responsible for Tiffany's worldwide financial functions. With this appointment, he will continue to be responsible for accounting, treasury, financial planning and financial services and will now also be responsible for the company's investor relations program.

James N. Fernandez, 55, was named to the newly-created role of chief operating officer. Fernandez has served as the company's chief financial officer since 1989 and was promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer in 1998. Over the years he added other responsibilities including diamond operations, real estate operations, distribution, manufacturing, customer service and security. He joined Tiffany in 1983.

“These two executives have both developed first-class finance and operations functions, and I consider this to be a natural progression consistent with the Company's continuing organizational development,” said Michael J. Kowalski, Tiffany chairman and CEO.

Fernandez will continue to report to Kowalski and McGuiness will report to Fernandez, the luxury jeweler said.

Tiffany & Co., based in New York, operates jewelry stores and manufactures products through its subsidiary corporations. Its principal subsidiary is Tiffany and Company, which operates Tiffany & Co.. retail stores and boutiques in the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Japan and Europe and engages in direct selling through Internet, catalog and business gift operations.

Graff’s IPO May Reach $1 Billion

The Graff Diamonds store on New Bond Street, London.

Arguably the most exclusive jeweler in the world, Graff Diamonds, is shopping its IPO as it prepares for a June 8 listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to reports, the diamond jeweler to the 0.1 percent of the 1 percent is expecting to raise $1 billion, which would value the retailer, and diamond and jewelry producer at $3 to $4 billion.

The London-based firm, known for its luxury diamond jewelry and for its owner’s penchant to buy some of the world’s most expensive gemstones, is expecting to raise $25 - $37 Hong Kong dollars ($3.22 - $4.76) per share, according to reports.

Laurence Graff, Graff Diamonds founder and chairman, and Francois Graff, CEO, met potential investors Monday, according to reports.

The money raised will primarily be used for expansion of the Asian retail network, development of Graff as an "iconic brand" (isn’t it already an iconic brand?) and developing the watch business, according to reports. The company currently has a network of more 30 stores, including five in China.

Graff Diamonds said it made $623.5 million in retail sales last year compared with $454.3 million the year before. However, a total of 20 customers accounted for 40 percent of its sales for the past three years. The company is also one of the few that have a mine-to-market operation that includes sourcing its own diamonds and gemstones and making its own jewelry.

The success of the IPO will not only be based on investors belief in the strength of the company, but their assessment of the increased growth among the world’s wealthy, particularly in China.

Swatch Group Acquires Harry Winston’s Luxury Retail Division for $1 Billion

The Swatch Group has acquired the famed Harry Winston luxury diamond jewelry and timepiece retail business for $750 million plus their assumption of up to $250 million of pro forma net debt. When this transaction is completed the company, Harry Winston Diamond Corp., will be solely in the diamond mining and distribution business.

The U.S. based division (Harry Winston Inc.) is a premier diamond jeweler and luxury timepiece retailer with salons in key locations—including New York, Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo and Beverly Hills. The possible sale of the retail division was the subject of rumors for months, which the company denied in a statement issued in October.

The company’s namesake (Harry Winston, March 1, 1896 – December 28, 1978) founded the company in 1932. He was among the most famous jewelers in the world and the first jeweler to lend jewels to an actress for the Oscars red carpet in 1944. He was also famous for donating the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

The jeweler was bought by Canadian diamond mining group, Aber Corp., in 2006 to create the Harry Winston Diamond Corp., with divisions in luxury retail and diamond mining, which was listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2007.

The transaction does not include the Canadian-based diamond mining activities of Harry Winston Diamond Corp., which has a 40 percent ownership interest in the Diavik Diamond Mine and is finalizing the purchase of the Ekati Diamond Mine, including its diamond sorting and sales facilities. Both mines are in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

When the transaction with Swatch is completed, this diamond business will operate under the name: Dominion Diamond Corporation.

Robert Gannicott, Harry Winston chairman and CEO, said changes in both luxury retail and the diamond markets, as well as the need for cash, led to the decision to sell its luxury retail operation.

“At the time that we purchased the Harry Winston brand, resource investment opportunities for diamonds were rare and expensive following the euphoria of the Canadian diamond discoveries, and the involvement of the large international mining companies,” Gannicott said in a statement. “The Harry Winston brand was competitively priced compared with its peers and we could bring diamond expertise and strategic connections to enhance value. Today there is a range of diamond resource opportunities while the value of heritage luxury brands has increased dramatically. This transaction represents a sound return on our original investment. It will leave us well equipped to realize upstream opportunities in an environment where cash has become a strategic resource while preserving and expanding our relationship with the downstream diamond business.”

The Swatch Group, based in Biel, Switzerland, is the world’s leading supplier of finished watches and watch movements and one of the world’s largest buyers of polished diamonds. The two companies said that they will also explore the opportunities for a joint diamond polishing venture bringing together the manufacturing and diamond expertise of the two companies.

“Harry Winston does brilliantly complement the prestige segment of the Group,” said Nayla Hayek, chairwoman of The Swatch Group Ltd. in a separate statement. “We are proud and happy to welcome Harry Winston to the Swatch Group family—diamonds are still a girl’s best friend.”

The transaction is subject to the approval of the different regulatory authorities.

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