Tiffany hopes to ride out Wall Street storms

On a recent Friday afternoon, the shop was mostly empty, with only a handful of people browsing through the jewelry displays.

James Hawthorne, manager at the Thomas Pink store a short walk from Tiffany, said he too had noted that Wall Street's spending seemed down. Thomas Pink, a high-end shirt maker, is owned by luxury goods group LVMH (LVMH.PA).

While pointing out that he expects the slump to be temporary, Hawthorne said "a lot of these guys" (bankers) were not shopping at lunch time anymore.

"They don't want to be seen coming and shopping at lunch because of the overall seriousness of what's going on in (Wall) Street," he said.

Some were spending more cautiously, Hawthorne added.

Pali Capital analyst Stacey Widlitz agreed. "Right now, some consumers are being more conservative and buying $500 bracelets instead of a $1,000 bracelet," she said.

Tiffany's Aaron acknowledged the trouble on Wall Street, saying the company had never claimed it was recession proof.

A BETTER FUTURE

While it is not exactly a sparkling time for domestic jewelry sales, Tiffany will recover quickly, said Doug Fleener, president and managing partner of retail consulting firm Dynamic Experiences Group.

"They will be the first to bounce back," Fleener said, comparing it with other jewelers. "Right now, Wall Street is just waiting for some good news."

Tiffany's fabled name, its appeal to tourists, a good product range and focus on expansion all bode well for the jeweler, industry experts and analysts said.

Another long-term boost for the Wall Street location will be the Freedom Tower, due to be completed in 2012, said Thomas Pink's Hawthorne and Joanne Podell, executive director for Cushman & Wakefield's retail services.

"In a few years when everything is sorted out and (the new) World Trade Center is up ... you are going to see a huge community there," Podell said.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman and Steve Orlofsky)