By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Tiffany & Co (TIF.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) cut its fiscal-year sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, blaming slowing growth in key markets like China and weakness in the United States as shoppers think twice about spending on high-end jewelry.

The forecasts followed a first-quarter when sales at Tiffany’s famous flagship store on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue fell 4 percent. The chain’s weakest London store was the one in that city’s financial district.

Even Tiffany’s recent torrid gains in Asia have cooled off because of some softening in economic growth in China and elsewhere, the company said.

“We believe those conditions may remain soft for the next couple of quarters,” Chief Financial Officer Pat McGuiness said on a conference call.

Tiffany cut its full-year global net sales growth forecast to a range of 7 percent to 8 percent, from a prior outlook of 10 percent. It reported lower-than-expected first-quarter earnings and cut its full-year profit outlook by 25 cents a share, to a range of $3.70 to $3.80.

The biggest reason for the lower forecasts was weakness at home, where the company gets 45 percent of its revenue.

May 24 (Reuters) – Tiffany & Co cut its fiscal-year sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, blaming slowing economic growth in many countries and weakness in its home U.S. market.

The upscale jeweler’s U.S. sales started softening in the fall and over the holidays amid concerns about Wall Street layoffs and then picked up in the winter.

But the company said the “soft trend” had continued and pointed to industrywide sluggishness in sales of high-end jewelry.

Similarly, rival Signet Jewelers Ltd also issued a disappointing forecast and posted quarterly results that showed slowing growth in its U.S. sales, particularly at its pricier Jared chain.

Signet, which gets about 20 percent of revenue in Britain, said a “promotional” climate there would drag down earnings.

Tiffany shares were down 7.8 percent at $56.98 in midday trading, while Signet fell 8.5 percent to $43.67.

Tiffany reported lower-than expected earnings for the first quarter ended on April 30. It cut its full-year global net sales growth forecast to a range of 7 percent to 8 percent from a prior outlook of 10 percent, pointing to “decelerating rates of economic growth in many countries.”

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Zale Corp (ZLC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a narrower third-quarter loss on Wednesday after another jump in sales in its fine brands segment, and the jeweler said momentum held up through the important Mother’s Day period.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 8 percent in the quarter, making it Zale’s sixth quarter in a row of improving same-store sales.

On a conference call with analysts, Chief Executive Theo Killion said that in May, which includes Mother’s Day and is a key month in the bridal season, same-store sales are up about 15 percent so far.

He also said customers have not balked at the 1.5 percent price increase on fine jewelry during the quarter. The hike along with better inventory management has allowed Zale to better identify more popular merchandise. As a result it said it has reduced clearance sales and improved gross profit margin.

Zale’s gross margin rose 1.2 points to 51.3 percent of sales in the quarter.

Zale has seen its sales rise in the last year and a half after falling sharply during the recession, when it faced a liquidity crunch. In May 2010, private equity firm Golden Gate Capital loaned Zale $150 million.

May 23 (Reuters) – Macy’s Inc will start selling some items from its private-brand collection directly to shoppers in China through a deal with a new online retailer that will allow it to gauge its long-term prospects there.

The department store chain said on Wednesday it will have a Macy’s section on omei.com, a new China based e-commerce site operated by VIPStore Co Ltd.

Macy’s said it has also invested $15 million for a minority stake in VIPstore. Other investors include Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of Intel Corp.

The Macy’s section on omei.com should start selling some items in the retailer’s I.N.C. private label collection, aimed at young fashion-conscious shoppers, next spring.

The move is part of efforts by Macy’s to take advantage of the popularity of its namesake stores and its upscale chain Bloomingdale’s with international shoppers.

Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren said in a statement that there is “significant long-term opportunity internationally” for the two chains.

Lundgren told Reuters in a recent interview that online initiatives were a way for the chain to try out overseas markets before committing to opening stores and facing well-established incumbents.

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Ralph Lauren Corp (RL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Tuesday, helped by soaring sales, but said it expected the pace of revenue growth to slow, in part because of Europe’s economic problems.

The clothing company, which sells mid-tier basics to high-end luxury labels, forecast a “mid-single digit” percentage increase in revenue for its fiscal year, which began April 1. That compares with a 20 percent rise last year.

Results at Ralph Lauren, whose brands include Polo, Club Monaco and Chaps, are also under pressure because of its efforts to take more control of its China operations. That entails closing stores operated with a partner and replacing them over time with its own Ralph Lauren shops, which will be in more desirable locations.

The company will open another 60 or so stores in China in the next three years, all in “premier” spots, Chief Operating Officer Roger Farah told analysts on a call.

The company’s shares were up 1.6 percent at $148.65 in midday trading.

In recent years, Ralph Lauren has sought to build its business in Asia, which accounts for 12 percent of its revenue and is the fastest-growing market for luxury goods. Those steps have included taking control of its licensees in South Korea and Japan.

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – U.S. retailers believe this life left in their brick-and-mortar stores and they’re trying new ways of making them more inviting by pampering customers – both the two- and four-legged kinds.

PetSmart Inc (PETM.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), for instance, will offer overnight dog accommodations at more stores. Macy’s Inc (M.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is offering a “virtual concierge” kiosk, and handbag maker Coach Inc (COH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is opening up dozens more men’s sections this year.

These are just some services retailers are trying to keep stores relevant as they try to compete with mobile devices, the Internet and daily deals.

“The customer is changing dramatically and is wide open to new ways of shopping,” Macy’s Chief Executive Terry Lundgren told Reuters last month at a conference in Tucson, Arizona.

Macy’s other initiatives include a “virtual concierge” kiosk that can make beauty product recommendations and a $400 million multiyear make-over of its flagship in Manhattan.

U.S. cities are littered with empty retail space, wreckage from aggressive expansion last decade that contributed to the demise of chains like Borders book stores and Mervyns department stores, and led to lower sales-per-square-foot for many that made it through.

NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) – The price for staking ground on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue jumped 22 percent in the past year, spurred by a record number of tourists spending their dollars at top U.S. and international retailers on America’s most coveted shopping ground.

The asking rent for street-level stores on Fifth Avenue between 50th and 59th streets rose to $2,750 per square foot this spring, the Real Estate Board of New York said in a report released Friday.

The stretch is home to world-famous stores including the flagships of Saks Inc and Tiffany & Co, as well as Bergdorf Goodman and a top-grossing Apple Inc store instantly recognizable for its large glass cube entrance near Central Park.

It has also attracted foreign retailers, notably Fast Retailing Co Ltd’s Uniqlo and Inditex’s Zara which in the last year have each opened flagships on Fifth Avenue.

“What’s pushing Fifth Avenue is basically the tourism. All international brands want to be represented there,” said C. Bradley Mendelson, executive vice president of real estate services company Cushman & Wakefield.

Stores on the stretch have benefited from the constant stream of international shoppers who crowd the sidewalks.

According to New York City statistics, a record 50.6 million visitors came to the city last year, up 43.8 percent since 2001.

By Phil Wahba

(Reuters) – Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Thursday it will spin off a large part of its stake in its Canadian unit, which Chairman Edward Lampert had spent years trying to gain control of, to better focus on its U.S. business.

Separately, Sears Holdings reported a first-quarter adjusted operating loss that was significantly better than the loss analysts had estimated, though revenues fell from a year ago.

Sears shares were up 7.4 percent at $54.63 in early trading.

Sears Holdings owns about 95 percent of Sears Canada (SCC.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which will be trimmed to about 51 percent after the spinoff to Sears Holdings’ shareholders, which it expects to complete this year. Sears said it could further reduce its Sears Canada stake after that. Sears Canada shares will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Sears expects the shares to be given its shareholders to be treated as a dividend by tax authorities.

The move follows efforts this year by Sears Holdings to cut costs by closing scores of stores, and to raise cash by selling prime real estate, spinning off its Sears Hometown and Outlet businesses and certain hardware stores.

May 16 (Reuters) – Beauty company Coty Inc has picked its lead underwriters for a planned initial public offering this fall, two days after it pulled a $10.7 billion unsolicited offer to buy Avon Products Inc, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The fragrance maker, founded in Paris in 1904 by François Coty, has selected Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan Chase & Co to lead the IPO, the source said.

Coty declined to comment, as did Bank of America and JPMorgan.

Coty, which is based in New York, plans to file a prospectus with U.S. regulators soon, the source said.

The IPO would value Coty, known for fragrances for Madonna and sports brand Adidas AG at more than $7 billion, the source said.

That would make it almost as valuable as Avon, which has a market value of about $8 billion, but has nearly three times the revenue.

Two days ago, Coty withdrew its offer for Avon, which it first disclosed in early April, faulting what it said was the direct seller’s “unwillingness” to sit down and talk.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – J.C. Penney Co Inc’s early effort to remake itself as an affordable fashion-oriented retail chain and wean consumers off discount coupons took a much bigger-than-expected toll on sales in the first quarter.

The department store owner also surprised investors by ending its dividend to help fund a multi-year overhaul under new Chief Executive Ron Johnson, who was credited with helping to build Apple Inc’s much-envied retail stores. Penney’s shares fell 12.7 percent to $29.10 in late trade on Tuesday.

Sales at J.C. Penney stores open at least a year fell 18.9 percent during the quarter, far worse than the average Wall Street estimate for a 12.2 percent decline.

In February, the retailer began to eliminate hundreds of sales events in favor of “everyday low” prices on most items, a radical departure that analysts predicted would confuse or alienate its customers.

“Coupons were a drug, they really drove traffic,” Johnson said at the company’s quarterly analyst conference in New York.

Penney reported a net loss of $163 million, or 75 cents per share, for the quarter ended April 28, compared with a profit of $64 million, or 28 cents per share, a year ago.

“It’s one big year we have to get through … We are trying to essentially convert the Titanic into 1,100 wave runners, and that is really hard to do,” Johnson said.