Tiffany Unfazed by Growing Competition

Luxury jeweler Tiffany & Co is not concerned by the growing presence of competitors' stores in its traditional marketplace, chief executive officer Michael Kowalski told Reuters.

Although Bulgari is expanding its retail presence in exclusive shopping areas of major capital cities around the world and De Beers is predicted to open a store soon on New York's Fifth Avenue, Kowalski was confident about the outlook for Tiffany.

"It wouldn't change things at all. In a year they're going to open a store with the De Beers name on Fifth Avenue through a joint venture with LVMH, but we've been in that situation in London for years, and the competitive implications are the same," Kowalski told Reuters.

As for Bulgari, Kowalski said the competitive risk was slight because of Tiffany's limited exposure to the luxury watch market, one of Bulgari's strengths.

Tiffany last month posted a strong rise in quarterly profit that beat analysts' and its own raised expectations, boosted by strong U.S. sales and Christmas holiday demand for high-priced items. Tiffany's holiday same-store sales surged 16 percent.

Manufactured diamonds were not an area of concern either, according to Kowalski.

"There will always be people that will be interested in buying manufactured diamonds. We're quite confident that over time people will be able to distinguish the difference. We'll always be able to tell," Kowalski said.

This exclusivity will remain a competitive edge even as the diamond jewelry becomes increasingly commoditized, he said. "We've tried to inform customers that a ring is not a ring, a diamond is not a diamond."