Tiffany sells jewelry, sterling silver, china, crystal, stationery, fragrances, water bottles, watches, personal accessories, as well as some leather goods. Many of these goods are sold at Tiffany stores, as well as through direct-mail and corporate merchandising. Tiffany is renowned for its luxury goods and is particularly known for its diamond and sterling silver jewelry. Tiffany markets itself as an arbiter of taste and style, and was once a purveyor to the Russian imperial family.
The company's manufacturing facilities produce approximately 60% of the merchandise sold — the balance, including rose-gold and almost all non-jewelry items, coming from third parties overseas. Tiffany's oversees a significant U.S. manufacturing base, with jewelry and silver goods produced in Mount Vernon, New York; majority in Cumberland, Rhode Island; and Lexington, Kentucky, while silver hollow-ware is produced in Rhode Island. The company's other subsidiaries, located in facilities outside the U.S., process, cut and polish the diamonds.
The company may increase the percentage of internally manufactured jewelry in the future, but it is not expected that Tiffany will ever manufacture all of its needs. Some of the key factors which management considered prior to its decision to outsource manufacturing included: product quality; gross margin; access to or mastery of various jewelry-making skills and technology; support for alternative capacity; and the cost of capital investments.
