Tiffany Case Study
I. CURRENT SITUATION
A. Current Performance:
Currently, Tiffany’s competitors’ aggressiveness in the industry is taking a toll on Tiffany’s stock price. From a high of $41.38 per share in January 2003, Tiffany’s stock price went down to $23.06 per share as of March 2003. The decline was due to many factors such as competition, economic recession, and SAR epidemic. Working capital and the corresponding current ratio were $612,978,000 and 2.8:1 at January 31, 2003, compared to $667,647,000 and 3.0:1 on January 31, 2002. Tiffany suffered a loss in 2001 due to economic conditions, especially post- September 11 results.
B. Strategic Posture:
From the beginning, it was clear that Charles Tiffany’s vision of establishing the grandest preeminent house of design and the world’s premier jewelry house, his vision has held true even over a century later. Mission: Tiffany is a retailer, designer, manufacturer, and distributor of luxury fine jewelry. It is known for its quality, craftsmanship, value, price, and brand. Its quality is nearly perfect, with minimal flaws. Their objective to provide strong and superior quality, craftsmanship, and value attributes to customers. Strategy is to place investment in Aber Resources that would help Tiffany secure a portion of its future diamond needs, giving it control over some of the resources. While tapping into potential markets might have been a big step, building brand image and brand recognition were very important when dealing with international markets. One of the much appreciated policies of the company is that customer who purchase from online are able to return at the real stores.
II. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A. Board of Directors
1. Currently, there are nine Board of Directors at Tiffany & Co.
a. Three internal members – (1) Michael J. Kowalski (Chairman of the Board of Director and CEO), (2) William R. Chaney, and James E. Quinn.
b. Six external members – Rose Marie Bravo, Gary E. Costley, Abby F.
A. Current Performance:
Currently, Tiffany’s competitors’ aggressiveness in the industry is taking a toll on Tiffany’s stock price. From a high of $41.38 per share in January 2003, Tiffany’s stock price went down to $23.06 per share as of March 2003. The decline was due to many factors such as competition, economic recession, and SAR epidemic. Working capital and the corresponding current ratio were $612,978,000 and 2.8:1 at January 31, 2003, compared to $667,647,000 and 3.0:1 on January 31, 2002. Tiffany suffered a loss in 2001 due to economic conditions, especially post- September 11 results.
B. Strategic Posture:
From the beginning, it was clear that Charles Tiffany’s vision of establishing the grandest preeminent house of design and the world’s premier jewelry house, his vision has held true even over a century later. Mission: Tiffany is a retailer, designer, manufacturer, and distributor of luxury fine jewelry. It is known for its quality, craftsmanship, value, price, and brand. Its quality is nearly perfect, with minimal flaws. Their objective to provide strong and superior quality, craftsmanship, and value attributes to customers. Strategy is to place investment in Aber Resources that would help Tiffany secure a portion of its future diamond needs, giving it control over some of the resources. While tapping into potential markets might have been a big step, building brand image and brand recognition were very important when dealing with international markets. One of the much appreciated policies of the company is that customer who purchase from online are able to return at the real stores.
II. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A. Board of Directors
1. Currently, there are nine Board of Directors at Tiffany & Co.
a. Three internal members – (1) Michael J. Kowalski (Chairman of the Board of Director and CEO), (2) William R. Chaney, and James E. Quinn.
b. Six external members – Rose Marie Bravo, Gary E. Costley, Abby F.