A Visit to Tiffanys

Christopher T Chee (A08983037)

MGT 105
Professor Campbell
28 October 2015
My experience of my visit to Tiffany & Co. (Tiffanys) begins before I arrive at the store. It
starts with my entrance into the mall it inhabits; Westfield UTC (UTC). The mall is, in a word,

upscale. Large towering structures line the outside of the mall, stylishly accented with the large
illuminated signs of stores against their walls, and complemented by palm trees and other
smaller shrubs. The brands you see from the outside include stores and restaurants like Pottery
Barn, Forever 21, and Nordstrom, which all hint that UTC is targeted towards the middle and
upper class consumer. It can be inferred then that all stores in UTC, Tiffanys included, fit into
one of those economic targets. The ambience is certainly that of sophistication and relaxation
on the inside of UTC, with large areas furnished with quality furniture allotted to leisure, and all
storefronts tidy and designed with their own custom design. Right near the center of the mall is
Tiffanys direct channel storefront (Keller 199).
Tiffanys storefront itself is essentially a work of art. Its walls are made completely of
glass, rimmed by both matte and shiny metal accents, and embodied by a marble structure. It is
clear that little to no expense was spared on the design and construction since large window
panes, metal, and marble are not cheap materials to handle in volume. This made me assume
that, if they were willing to go all out on the building, the commitment would extend to the
products they sold within. The only legible words on the outside of the store are the couple
Tiffany & Co. signs, and the only noticeable colors being the white from the large blinds
hanging from above half way down, the robin egg blue from gradient added to some of the
window panes, the metallic from the metal, the off white from the marble, and the yellow light
shining from within the actual storefront. The blue is as such the only actual color rather than a
shade of gray if we discount the indoor lighting, and is strongly associated with the brand Tiffany
(Keller 150). For my own personal experience, the blue adds a memorable and refreshing
element to Tiffany jewelry, and being that it is used consistently throughout the Tiffany
experience as the only discernable color, it is clearly a branding element. I was ready to enter.
Upon walking into Tiffanys through its thick metal windowed doors, a warm ambience
takes over. Much of the showroom is significantly darker than the display cases where the
jewelry is on display, putting emphasis on their direct value proposition. The carpet is a neutral

color and design, the walls a plain white washed with dim yellow light. The way the store is set
up, walking up to the nearest display and looking at every piece is easy and almost comforting.
The lighting is shining from the long curved display boxes is masterfully flooding. Diamonds
sparkle from all angles, metals are accented and their sheen displayed in full. This much I
expected from a jewelry store. The placement was to be noted though, with each piece given an
allotted amount of space, adding to each piece extra value and consideration. Little handwritten
price tags were strung to each piece, adding a personal touch that would manifest itself again
further down the Tiffanys experience. The browsing experience is an efficient and satisfying
one, and an important detail here is that no staff member asked me a question. To be clear, I
hadnt made direct eye contact or any indication of wanting to talk. I found this treatment very
satisfying and empathetic, for if I was perhaps an introvert, I may find speaking to staff daunting
even though I would still want to browse. With the grandeur of the store entrance and the
sophistication of the interior design and staff, to enter Tiffanys in basketball shorts, childish
Disney branded Mickey Mouse socks, Vans sneakers, and a plain gray tee-shirt as I did is not
an experience without some subtle embarrassment in ones choice of apparel. I decided to
spark conversation with an employee to see how I was treated given my less than ideal
appearance.
The staff member I interacted with at Tiffanys melted what worries this misfit had. The
interaction began with eye contact from halfway across the store, and an inquiring finger pointed
upwards by myself. The man struck a smile and crisply walked over from behind the display he
stood. After asking how he could help, I told him I was looking for necklaces in the $1,000 to
$1,500 range in yellow gold for a significant other. He efficiently guided me to the appropriate
area, for I had been looking at some extravagant pieces that were far out of my stated budget,
and began pointing out a few pieces in particular. Then he followed up with a question of
whether I was looking for any stones within, and if the heart shape was desired since it was a
significant other. This keen attention to detail and personalized experience is not a one-off. As it

turns out, I shopped at Tiffanys a couple years back for the very reason I had stated on my
more recent visit, and the personalization was the same (Keller 181). I assume thusly that this
complete and inclusive treatment of customers is a part of the brand of Tiffany, and adds to their
brand resonance. They know their activity level is low, so their intensity is high (Keller 122). To
test how intensely my consultant knew the Tiffany brand, I told him a heart was indeed
preferred, and that a simple design would be better than a complicated one. He assured me he
knew a piece that fit my description, and walked me to the display of the Tiffany Elsa Peretti
Open Heart pendant. Surely enough, the necklace was indeed as I had required. The piece
came in multiple sizes, with the small at $950 and the medium at $1500. He made no mention
of the large, knowing it was far out of my range. I told him I would need time to think about it,
and how I should proceed. He produced a cleanly designed Tiffanys business card,
personalized with his name, but interestingly enough, no phone number. The phone number he
wrote personally on the front of the card, and then wrote down the details of the two pieces of
interest on the back of the card. Again, much to my satisfaction, there was no hint from him that
he expected me not to have the money on hand. His patience matched the due diligence I
would supposedly need to do before making such a substantial purchase. I finally headed to the
door, and he walked me to the entrance, shaking my hand, and bidding me a good day. It was
clear to me that the employees were the most important communicators of the brand. Jewelry
can only looks so perfect in their display cases. It was up to the employee to define the brand
further, and this one had done it well by providing an experience.
All Tiffany experience is, from to start to finish, centered around matching the customer
with a piece of jewelry that holds Tiffany values of quality and luxury. Any of the pieces if not
branded by Tiffany would be worth significantly less at face value, but Tiffany has produced a
strongly positive customer-based brand equity by leveraging its history and continued practice
of superb and consistent quality, presentation, and customer service. In this analysis, the
storefront was their selling gateway. No expense was spared in its construction, and their

products were masterfully on display. This hinted at a quality association with the Tiffany brand.
This was reinforced by the jewelry actually on display, which were constructed without flaw. Who
better to help you choose from quality then a quality staff, well trained in the subtleties of human
interaction. The whole experience is intimate. While to be sure, people buy either themselves or
someone else jewelry at Tiffanys, I am convinced that there is some element of the purchase
being a consequence of the experience; a buying into the values and treatment at Tiffanys.
To add the the Tiffanys experience, I would also like to add the story of my purchase
from before to further analyze the brand. For my last purchase, I had also done an initial browse
and decided I would purchase another day. A few days later, I phoned in my details to the
worker to complete the sale, and arranged a time to meet. Upon that time arriving, I entered the
Tiffanys store and was greeted by the older gentleman, and guided to a counter. From the other
side, he slid out a box and showed me the necklace I had purchased. He then informed me that
I could come in whenever if I wanted to clean it, and if I wanted to switch it to another piece, he
would help. I confirmed that the piece looked fantastic, and he pulled out a second box colored
in the memorable Tiffanys blue, carefully placed the necklace in its appropriate setting, closed
the box, tied it with a ribbon, and put it in a Tiffanys blue bag. The branding was there through
the whole sales process. The worker believed in the product, telling me about how long he was
in Tiffanys service proudly while packaging my necklace, giving to my purchase more value
through his caring and thoroughness. And symbolically, I was able to take home some Tiffanys
specific color away from a store that was otherwise devoid of color. It was like an unofficial
entrance into an exclusive club.
When I originally shopped at Tiffany, it was the only jewelry store that I knew of that held
an association for premium jewelry for loved ones. How I heard about them escapes me, but the
fact alone gives a good indication that Tiffanys has strong brand awareness. They are self
aware of this and do not take away from their storefront appeal by displaying any unnecessary
promotions, but rather just have their store name up front. This strengthens their brand image

interestingly enough, making them appear inherently more trustworthy as they do not appear to
sell directly so much as provide an experience. Altogether, Tiffanys has successfully positioned
itself as a provider of premium jewelry with emotional attachment and a story whose
consistency has yielded a strong word of mouth legacy (Keller 108).
Improving upon the Tiffanys storefront is not a simple matter when considering their
target market of the middle and upper class as governed by the price range of their products. If
it can be called a flaw, the only one noticeable to myself was that the store is not welcoming to
an individual not dressed the part of a sophisticated member of society. Yet, as mentioned prior,
the staff is nothing short of friendly and accommodating nonetheless, and no judging eyes are to
be found. The whole of the experience is friendly, thorough, and personal. Furthermore, not all
potential customers can be pleased by a uniform initial impression, but Tiffanys makes the best
of this by treating any interested party with respect and attention (Keller 274). If you believe in
what a piece of Tiffany jewelry stands for, you are welcome. And what that is can be left up to
you. When I buy a Tiffanys piece for someone, it is because I believe in the quality they will give
me, but more importantly the experience it will provide the person I will give it to. The recipient, I
assume, will know the history, the quality, and the premium status of Tiffanys and understand
the thought process and financial sacrifice of the purchase. The value the recipient places on
Tiffanys brand is even more important than my own. To trust that it will be a positive value in
either case shows the strength and value of the Tiffany & Co. brand.

Works Cited
Keller, Kevin Lane. Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand
Equity.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.