Tiffany's Growing Shine

There are many interesting data points to be found in the results of Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) this quarter. Not all of them sparkle, though.

The company beat expectations on revenues and on earnings per share. On the latter measure, the company's $0.21 per share for the quarter easily beat analysts' expectations by $0.05 per share. Another bright point is the company's large share repurchases this year, which I think shareholders will come to appreciate in future years. The not so pretty is that the company's working capital management was less than optimal. Still, I'd hardly say there's cause for alarm. But all of these high-level numerical points are caught in our Fool by Numbers, so I'd like to focus on another part of Tiffany & Co's results that I found interesting -- the company's international operations.

Half of Tiffany's international business comes from Japan, and the company has an extremely strong presence in the country, but so do other luxury retailers such as Cartier, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, and Coach (Nasdaq: COH). Unfortunately, Japan is a fairly mature market for Tiffany's and other luxury retailers, and competition is fierce. I think Tiffany's will ultimately continue to do well in Japan, but this quarter's results followed the disappointing results of the last year or so, with same-store sales declining 5% and total sales in Japan declining 3%, which translated into an 8% decline in U.S. dollars.

But the rest of the company's international operations are in areas where the company has plenty of additional room for growth and the performance is impressive. China is certainly one of the areas that should propel Tiffany & Co. for quite some time, and other Southeast Asian countries, Australia, and even parts of Europe hold opportunity for growth. In this part of the business, Tiffany's performance really does sparkle. Outside of Japan, the rest of Asia and the Pacific countries turned in 17% same-store sales growth, and year-to-date same-store sales are up 21%. In Europe, the numbers were in the same ballpark.

Blue Nile (Nasdaq: NILE) gets a lot of attention, and rightfully so. It's a well-run business. I'd even be willing to bet that Blue Nile's working capital management and direct customer marketing strategies provide it with an advantage over most diamond and jewelry sellers. But Tiffany's diamond purchasing and working capital management is nothing to scoff at, and Tiffany's brand is undoubtedly stronger and much better known internationally. As Asian economies continue to grow and disposable income increases, that should bode well for Tiffany's.

Interested in learning about additional international investment opportunities? Take a free trial to the Motley Fool's new international investing service, Global Gains .

At the time of publication, Nathan Parmelee owned shares in Blue Nile, but had no financial interest in any of the other companies mentioned. Blue Nile is a Motley Fool Hidden Gems and Motley Fool Rule Breakers selection. The Motley Fool has an ironclad disclosure policy.