Direct marketing sales continued their upward curve at Tiffany & Co. during the third quarter.
They rose by 11% to $37 million, and combined Internet/catalog sales went up by 19% compared with the same period last year. The company’s total net sales increased by 10% to $336 million.
Meanwhile, the New York-based jewelry retailer reported net earnings of $35 million, a 46% increase over the same quarter in 2001. The size of increase was partly due to a non-recurring tax benefit of $8 million.
For the first nine months, total net sales reached $1 billion, a 4% increase over the prior year. Direct marketing sales increased by 11% to $109 million.
However, Tiffany said it would phase out its employee service award business as soon as it met existing commitments because of its marginal profitability. Sales in this area normally are less than $30 million per year, or half of the Business Sales division’s total revenue.
“This portion of our Business Sales division was coming under increasing pressure to offer lower priced products that fall outside of Tiffany’s traditional categories and quality standards,” said vice chairman James E. Quinn in a statement.
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