MARRIAGE SLUMP DENTS TIFFANY

THRIFTY customers are ditching diamonds for cheaper jewellery – sparking a surprise sales slump at high-end retailer Tiffany & Co.

A fall in the number of couples who get married has dented the popularity of engagement rings.

And there is also a move away from the top brands charging thousands of pounds, as buyers spend on holidays and eating out.

Sales in stores open more than a year dropped 3pc in the three months to April, to the horror of analysts who had been expecting a 1.1pc rise.

Overall sales were up slightly to £694m but this was still behind forecasts, and profits climbed to £71.6m, up £4.2m on the same period last year.

Tiffany is fighting to win more younger shoppers, and named Lady Gaga as the face of its fashion jewellery collection in January.

Shares fell 8.3pc in early Wall Street trading.

Tiffany began in 1837 as a stationery and ‘fancy goods’ shop in New York It started thanks to a $1,000 advance from the father of founder Charles Lewis Tiffany In 1878 it became associated with jewels after it bought a 278 carat yellow diamond The...