WHILE Chinese shoppers may not be buying much Tiffany jewelry in New York City these days, it appears they’re happy to open their wallets in Beijing. That’s a trick Apple Inc. hasn’t been able to pull off. Tiffany & Co., whose overall holiday sales fell flat, reported double-digit sales growth in China in the final two months of the year. “The holiday period has actually been very positive — China is a big area of focus,” Tiffany’s chief executive Alessandro Bogliolo said. He said a boost in marketing spending there about a year ago has started to pay off. “We have seen an acceleration in China.” China stood out among overall sales that missed the company’s expectations during the critical holiday period. Behind the lower-than-expected total sales were Chinese tourists reining in spending abroad, a worrying trend the company first highlighted this fall. It’s not a Tiffany-specific problem. Bogliolo said he expects Chinese travelers won’t sit out forever. “The first six months of last year were very strong. Going forward, I would expect these trends to continue,” he said. “These dynamics can change very quickly.”(SD-Agencies) |