Tiffany says sales could miss estimates if Hong Kong protests continue

Tiffany & Co warned on Wednesday of the impact the ongoing protests in Hong Kong are having on the company's sales and said any deterioration in the situation may result in the jeweler's full-year sales coming in below its own forecasts. Hong Kong is the luxury retailer's fourth-largest market after the United States, Japan, and mainland China.

Tiffany maintained its full-year sales forecast of a low-single-digit percentage rise and earnings per share outlook of low to mid-single-digit growth. However, Chief Financial Officer Mark Erceg said if the ongoing unrest in Hong Kong persists much longer, Tiffany would find itself at the lower end of its full-year sales range.

"If the situation would deteriorate even further or if the current level of unrest was maintained for the balance of the fiscal year, we may find ourselves below the bottom end of our ranges," Erceg said. Tiffany lost six selling days in Hong Kong in the second quarter due to store closures, Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Bogliolo said on a post-earnings call with analysts on Wednesday.