Tiffany to open new stores in China with positive market outlook

US luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co announced Monday that it would open two new stores on the Chinese mainland in the second half of 2019 amid a positive market outlook.

Tiffany will launch Asia's first Blue Box Cafe in Shanghai later this year, and its first airport store on the Chinese mainland will be unveiled at Beijing Capital International Airport in October, said the company's CEO Alessandro Bogliolo at a Tiffany exhibition that kicked off in Shanghai Monday.

The exhibition, themed "Vision & Virtuosity," brings together about 350 treasured exhibits including the first Tiffany Blue Box and the company's iconic yellow diamond. More than 100 of the exhibits made their public debut at the exhibition.

"China is Tiffany's second-largest market in the world, and it has been the most dynamic market in the last 20 years," Bogliolo said. "The customers here have changed to a generation with mainly millennials. They care more about self-expression and want to know what is special about the brand."

He added that he is very confident about the Chinese market and expects it to maintain its pace in the years ahead.

In August this year, Tiffany cooperated with Tmall, Alibaba's online marketplace, to open its first-ever online pop-up store in China.

"The market here is more open to innovation," Bogliolo said. "The consumers are evolving at such a fast pace, which is challenging on one side, but is also very inspiring for the brand on the other side, because it's where you can experiment with new things."

He said Tiffany would launch its men's jewelry collection in China later this year to meet the growing demand.