Marketing Management Assignment

TIFFANY & CO: OMNI-CHANNEL

STRATEGY FOR THE ASIAN LUXURY CONSUMER

Syndicate Group 5
Riasky Widar D 29320087
Bella Nadhifah A 29320088
Fachry Arrazy 29320090
Fadhila Afifah 29320093
Reyner Farras 29320097
Kevin Apriano M 29320101

Background
Erica Kerner, VP of Marketing & Communications, Asia Pacific at Tiffany & Co believed
that Singapore offered great opportunities for the luxury jewellery and speciality retailer to
embark on an omnichannel retail strategy, given the country’s high levels of internet usage and
mobile penetration. The luxury goods industry operated through three key selling channels such
as the wholesale channel, retail through directly operated stores, and representing online sales.
The Singapore market was a luxury brand’s paradise and the most generous gift-givers
with affordable luxury gifts within the consideration set of many. As a cosmopolitan city,
Singapore was home to sophisticated consumers in global brands and labels. With the country
having the best retail set up in Asia, luxury shopping was a key attraction not only for locals but
also tourists.
While the brand enjoyed strong equity amongst its existing consumers, Kerner was well
aware of the new paradigms in luxury shopping on account of digitisation and also the need to
gain more traction with the new generation of luxury shoppers. The Tiffany brand was at the
forefront of social media and digital activations through various platforms. Mobile apps allowed
consumers to browse the entire collection with detailed descriptions. To gain favour with modern
affluent consumers, Tiffany wanted to refresh its branding and create a more youthful and
contemporary image, a “with-it” brand. For that, it was expanding its footprint on popular social
media platforms for younger consumers.
The brand enjoyed tremendous social capital, but it had not been able to leverage it
effectively in Singapore. Kerner knew that the brand’s online presence served as an effective
marketing tool to actively engage customers. However, a more integrated approach including
e-commerce would enable higher sales conversions while extending the brand’s reach and
appeal to millennials.

Industry and Competition Situation

Globally, the luxury jewellery industry was dominated by local players. The majority of
the market was controlled by small and medium-size enterprises or strong national retail brands
such as Christ in Germany or Chow Tai Fook In China. Tiffany & Co. was a holding company,
and it was a jeweller and speciality in jewellery, timepieces, sterling silverware, crystal,
stationery fragrance, and accessories.

1
 Marketing Management Assignment

As part of its long term strategy, Tiffany was focused on expanding by renovating,
relocating, or building new stores and new markets. The company had a wide range of products
and was already recognized worldwide as a bridal and engagement jewellery leader. They have
a signature box, and it is called a "Blue Box." It has become an iconic best selling engagement
ring and a standard for over 100 years.
Tiffany also digitized their store to gain more attraction from a new generation of luxury
shoppers, especially for "Millennials." The brand is also at the forefront of social media,
including Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Snapchat. They also have a mobile app to
browse the entire collections and find the right size by virtually trying the rings. Kerney believed
that a robust multichannel approach with innovative technology would be a touchpoint to
connect with the next generation of luxury buyers. In Asia-Pacific Market, Tiffany's performance
was not as strong as expected, especially in 2013, and in 2016 they did not show any
improvements and decline of 15%. However, in Singapore, an online presence is a useful tool to
engage customers. This set was made by millennials increasingly using online retail channels to
make purchases.

(Picture 1. The Iconic Blue Box and a Ring of Tiffany & Co.)

Problem Statement
There are several problems that were stated in the case, but according to our group, the
most important problem for this case is how Tiffany & Co. could implement the omnichannel
strategy to improve their customer experience in all across points of contact meaning online and
offline platforms. But Tiffany & Co. faces a dilemma about how to increase its digital presence
without sacrificing its exclusive image.

Recommendations
To increase Tiffany & Co. digital presence without compromising its exclusivity and the
perception of scarcity, we propose Tiffany & Co. sell only the fashion silver product online since
it was the cheapest product category in Tiffany & Co. costing about a thousand dollars or less.
For the fashion gold, fine jewellery and high jewellery categories, we propose Tiffany & Co.to
only sell the product offline weighing in the fact that it is risky to sell expensive products online.
Not only that, we think that retail experience is part of the luxury brand story and it could give
personal experience for the customers. While the internet is a very impersonal platform that
might not be able to give the customers a luxury brand experience.