Tiffany & Co unveils revamped New York flagship, showcasing new look

NEW YORK – Tiffany & Co lifted the lid on its newly renovated New York city flagship on Wednesday, the centrepiece of a broad brand reset orchestrated by its owner LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group.

House ambassador and Israeli actress Gal Gadot from the Wonder Woman superhero films (2017 and 2020) presided over the morning ribbon-cutting ceremony, flanked by Tiffany chief executive Anthony Ledru and Mr Alexandre Arnault, executive vice-president of product and communications for the label – one of LMVH chairman and chief executive Bernard Arnault’s five children who hold key positions in the French firm.

The executives snipped the ribbon in the label’s trademark robin’s egg blue, prompting applause from the crowd that spilled out onto the sidewalk of the store, at the corner of East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The nearly four-year overhaul of the historic building, which was built in the early 1940s and anchors a prominent stretch of midtown Manhattan real estate, began before Tiffany was purchased by LVMH, Europe’s most valuable company.

The store accounted for 10 per cent of Tiffany’s global sales before closing for renovations in 2019 and will likely remain the label’s most important retail outlet, both in terms of sales and as a means to project its image, Mr Ledru said.

“It’s not a flagship, it’s a landmark – a landmark that has been here for 83 years, it’s the renovation of the century,” he told journalists after the ceremony, speaking from the glass-lined penthouse on the 10th floor, overlooking Central Park.

LVMH did not reveal the cost of renovations, but executives said it was by far the group’s largest retail investment – surpassing Dior’s Avenue Montaigne flagship in Paris, opened in 2022.

Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue outpost is key to its brand revival, hinged on moving upmarket and beyond the traditional focus on engagement rings.

Mr Alexandre Arnault spearheaded the label’s initial reset with an advertising campaign starring American pop star Beyonce – wearing the famous yellow Tiffany diamond – and her American rap mogul husband Jay-Z.

Product-wise, the label’s top-selling product lines include the T-shaped jewellery, chunky HardWear line and the more recently introduced oval-shaped Lock bracelets.

Now, the priority will be on renovating the label’s retail network, essential for Tiffany to bridge the gap with Cartier, the world’s largest jewellery label, which belongs to Richemont, Mr Ledru said. REUTERS