The Tiffany & Company store on Wall Street in New York Source: AFP
ACROSS New York a long-forgotten rustling and snapping can be heard. It's the sound of high-rollers opening their wallets.
In the clearest sign yet that the very wealthy are spending again, Tiffany & Company reported third-quarter results that ripped through analysts' expectations.
Profits at the New York-based luxury jeweller rose 27 per cent to $US55.1 million ($56.1), up from $US43.3m a year earlier, while revenue rose to $US681.7m.
Mark Aaron, a Tiffany spokesman, suggested that while high-end consumers may be more comfortable making discretionary purchases, the same did not apply across the board.
"We continue to see bifurcated performance, with declines in sales and transactions below $US500, but double-digit percentage increases in most every other higher-priced category," he said. "This indicates to us diverging effects to one degree or another that the economy is having on consumer spending."
"The increase is coming from our New Yorker local clientele. It's across the board, not just from Wall Street," he said, adding that the rise was driven by private diners, not expense account customers, and that diners were ordering more expensive steak dishes, priced at $US55 instead of $US47, and drinking wine by the bottle, not by the glass.
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