Tiffany opens the new boutique in Milan: Lvmh’s « American » jewels become an art gallery in Montenapoleone

« So far in Milan there was a consulate in Milan, now opens a Tiffany embassy. » Anthony Ledru, president and CEO of Tiffany & Co. speaks exclusively with The economy from the New windows that open in via Montenapoleone in Milan. « A Tiffany Embassy, ​​with an investment second only to that for New York, the Landmark Store ».

Mr. Ledru, because after New York, where the maison’s adventure began with 200 years of history, founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1837, did you choose Milan for the most desired jewels in the world? A brand, a logo, in the legend of cinema with Audrey Hepburn in « Breakfast at Tiffany ». And not Paris, for example?
« Because Milan has always been a city with a strong potential for the market: When you are in Milan in via Montenapoleone you are in one of the five streets and cities of the world that are a destination of shopping. In London there is Bond Street, Rodeo Drive and Fifth Avenue in the USA, and via Montenapoleone in Milan. For this we have immediately seen the exceptional potential of a shop that is actually an entire building ».

When did you start the work at Palazzo Taverna, the historic neoclassical building built in 1835? And what do you expect Mr. Arnault from this project?
«It is a great job started five years ago, and there have been many internal discussions to the group with the three LVMH brands hosted today by the building. I was just in Vuitton when he started talking about it, to discuss where Bulgari should have placed and where Tiffany and then Vuitton: well it was clear immediately that Vuitton should have guarded the heart of the real estate project « .

What represents this new opening for Tiffany, who today has over 300 stores in the world, more than 14 thousand employees, over three thousand craftsmen who cut gems, chisel, create jewels?
« We had a consulate in Milan and we will have an embassy. With an extraordinary potential. If we perhaps arrived late in via Montenapoleone, from via Spiga, we will now be the first. Because it is not a flagship, not a shop but a lighthouse, a lighthouse ».

And then? What is your retail strategy for Tiffany for the next few years?
« We want to have ten stores like this all over the worldafter the first in New York and now Milan. With New York that for Tiffany’s story will always play the role of « Lighthouse of the Lighthouses »: it is also the largest investment ever made by Tiffany and Lvmh in the world ».

Commitment

How much have you invested in Milan?
«We never give numbers, but let’s say that more than $ 700 million has been talked about for the landmark, much more believes me. And for the size of the investment, the one on Milan comes second. I can say that it was a very consistent expense: with its 1,200 square meters it is the largest Tiffany & Co shop in Europe, with the design of Peter Marino ».

And was Mr. Arnault involved in the operation?
«We wanted to create something beautiful, unique and yes, the project was personally followed by Mr. Arnault. And it is not that you get involved in all the group’s projects, if it is not something exceptional ».

Milan is at the center of fashion dynamics: the Milanese fashion week has passed the competitors of London and plays to equal terms with Paris, said Carlo Capasa, number one of the Italian fashion chamber.
«I agree, Milan is the center of the world for fashion. And Tiffany will be the heart of jewelry. So much so that it is also our second largest investment after the one for Landmark in New York ».

A shop with works of art: a gallery where to shop?
« There is a lot of art linked to Tiffany, in addition to jewels. It is a real cultural destination. With every piece of art exhibited that makes sense and a connection with Tiffany, but also with Milan or Italy. For example, there is a Picasso that Paloma, daughter of the great artist, has procured. I spent them remembering Pablo Picasso’s historical ties with Italy. And next to the bar there is the statue of Daniel Arsham, then some Pistoletto, Urs Fischer and there is Julian Schnabel. An intersection between jewelry and craftsmanship: we will bring here thirty pieces of archive never shown before, Schlumberger jewels for Elizabeth Taylor, pieces of Elsa Peretti who come from his home in Spain ».

The prospects

She was chosen to guide Tiffany after being Vice President of Global Commercial Activities for Louis Vuitton. What strategy does it have in mind?
« That of the very high range jewelry, unique pieces ».

Arnault, Chairman and CEO of the LVMH group, commenting on the results with revenues for 84.7 billion euros, said he « woke up asleep » referring to Tiffany: growth of 9% in the last quarter 2024. The Landmark scored record revenue in 2024 by climbing the podium of the first luxury shop in the world. And Tiffany saw the revenue from the high quadruplicare jewelry from the acquisition of the maison, and the doubling of the operating profit. With Bulgari and Tag Heur, LVMH watches and jewels are worth 10,577 million euros. No fear that the Business regga, today, since we live complex times in a difficult geopolitical scenario?
«For Tiffany in this scenario I see more opportunities than you risk. I admit it, he is an American Mindset, a very American reasoning. But I share it one hundred percent. And then the LVMH group would not have invested 16 billion on a brand, in 2021, if it had not been one hundred percent sure that the future is full of opportunities to be seized. Tiffany is a long -term investment ».

It was the largest acquisition in the world of luxury ever scored.
«And the future is the hi-end jewellery, because a luxury brand has a duty to surprise. And at home we have extraordinary resources: liquidity and a treasure of exceptional stones for our creativity. Like the purchase of 35 diamonds of the now closed Argyle Diamond Mine in Australia: it was a strong financial commitment. Then we have exceptional emeralds and the most beautiful pearls thanks to our partnership with Qatar. And the very high range in the jewelery brings loyalty because it ensures uniqueness. Otherwise we would only be commodities. The strategy is to go back to Tiffany’s excellence in the sixties. An excellence that brought the entire sector to excellence « .

Before Tiffany she worked for Cartier and Harry Winston, and comes from the world of fashion, Vuitton. Will he bring many fashion collaborations to Tiffany’s future?
«Future collaborations will be on jewelry. Like the one with Daniel Arsham. We do the jewels, he works on the packaging. Because we are 100%jewelers. We do not want to be distracted by anything else: our motto will be « jewelery-agiielleria-lived ». Other bands are making incursions in other fields. But we believe that our field of Expertise is the jewelry and we will focus on this ».

Jewelery but also watches: Hard Luxury. As soon as she arrived in Tiffany, she has relaunched the timepiece range.
«I had already worked in Tiffany, I mean before the acquisition, in 2012, then I moved to Vuitton. In that first experience I was in love with the archives. Archives that tell how in every era of the Tiffany watch has always been the protagonist, until at some point he decided that it was a business not to be brought forward for some reason. Now we finally have three great collections: one tied to Jean Schlumberger, one with diamonds, the eternity, and the hardwear. The jewelry feeds the watches business, and vice versa ».

The future of luxury also runs online. How much does he believe in digital?
«Physical experience is always better than digital. My wife is Argentina and I believe that cultures with a Latin background understand what I mean: the complete experience does in the shop, even if the digital offers a first contact with the brand, is Educational and is fast for a small purchase. The shops, the brick and mortar, the brick, is absolutely the future: you can spend several hours in a shop, a few minutes online ».

And after Milan? Where is the next Tiffany openings to complete the rose of ten emblematic stores in the world?
«We have two major projects, one in London, where we have been for 150 years, and one in Paris, which is perhaps the most important capital of high jewelery. We have already ensured the locations, we are working on it. Meanwhile, we will open in July in Ginza, Tokyo ».