Tiffany & Co. Inc. said today sales in its new Westport store were off to an “exceptionally strong start” and contributed to a 12 percent overall sales increase in the November-December holiday period for the luxury retailer from the prior year.
Flashback: Tiffany’s Westport store opened Nov. 5 with a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” event for local merchants. WestportNow.com photo

Mark L. Aaron, vice president of investor relations, told a conference call for analysts that sales in the New York flagship store were up 11 percent while sales in the six stores in the New York suburban region were roughly equivalent to last year.

“We are also experiencing an exceptionally strong start in our new store in Westport, Conn., although it is likely having a cannibalization effect on a couple of New York area stores,” he said.

The Westport store opened Nov. 5 in the location which formerly housed Eddie Bauer at the corner of Post Road East and Taylor Place. Part of the ground floor retail space has yet to be sublet.

John Grotto Contributed photoWestport resident John C. Grotto has been selected as 2005 chairman of the Young Mens’ Womens’ Real Estate Association.

The Manhattan-based real estate organization was founded in 1948 to unite young men and women whose principal occupation is the real estate profession.

Membership consists of approximately 400 real estate professionals who seek to secure the highest standing of ethical and moral professional conduct.

Steven Parmelee: fournder and president of Westport Benefits Group.  Contributed photoA new Westport-based fiduciary advisory service, Westport Benefits Group, has been established to meet what organizers say is a growing need for fiduciary responsibility in the retirement plan marketplace.

As 401(k) plan trustees begin to recognize that they are personally liable for their actions on behalf of the plan, many are scrambling to make sure they are in compliance, according to a press release announcing the service.

It cited the case earlier this year of Enrons former human resources head, Cindy Olson, who it said was found personally liable for breach of fiduciary responsibility and fined $100,000, which was not covered by errors and omissions insurance.

Although few plan sponsors share EnronҒs particular circumstances, most are considering this a wake-up call, the announcement said.

She may be in prison and away from the editorial operation, but the legal troubles of Westport’s Martha Stewart apparently are not negatively impacting subscriber renewals to her flagship magazine.

A new survey found that readers are renewing their subscriptions at a pace well ahead of industry norms.

That faithful readership may help encourage the return of advertisers who haven’t demonstrated the same loyalty since the magazine’s founder became tainted by a stock-trading scandal in June 2002.

Almost 70 percent of Martha Stewart Living subscribers said they planned to renew their subscriptions, according to a September survey conducted for WPP Group PLC’s Mediaedge:cia.

Westport-based IWT Tesoro Corp., a value-added distributor of ceramic, porcelain and natural stone floor and wall covering through one of its operating subsidiaries, International Wholesale Tile, today announced revenues of $11.1 million for the three months ending Sept. 30, a 23 percent increase or $2 million over the same period a year ago.

For the nine months ending Sept. 30, revenues were $32.2 million, a 33 percent increase or $8 million over the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2003. The publicly-traded company has its headquarters at 191 Post Road West.

The increase in revenue slowed somewhat during the most recent three-month reporting period due to the severe weather that affected a widespread area of Florida, the Gulf Coast of Alabama and several other Southeastern states, the company said.

The storms also constrained International Wholesale Tile’s ability to deliver its products to temporarily damaged dealer locations.

Lime Rock Partners, a Westport-based private equity firm focusing on the energy sector, today announced the first and final closing of its third fund, Lime Rock Partners III, L.P., with $425 million in capital commitments. 

The fund, like its two predecessors, will target privately-negotiated investments in growth-stage companies in the conventional oil service, oil service technology, and exploration and production sectors of the energy industry.

Lime Rock also has offices in Houston Aberdeen, Scotland, and Calgary, Alberta. 

Lime Rock closed its first fund in October 1998 with $105 million in capital commitments and its second fund in October 2002 with $320 million in capital commitments.

Susan Lyne: new CEO of Martha Stewart’s media company. Contributed photo The media company founded by Westport’s Martha Stewart got a new chief executive today.

Susan Lyne, a veteran television and publishing executive. hopes to jump-start Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia while its namesake former chairman and CEO finishes serving her five-month prison sentence.

She replaces Sharon Patrick who resigned.

Lyne, who has served as a director of Martha Stewart Living since June 2004, has had a 25-year career in creative and business positions in the television, publishing and film industries.

The media company owned by Westport’s Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., posted a wider loss in the third quarter than a year ago amid declining advertising revenues, it was announced today.

The results beat Wall Street expectations, but the company warned of a wider loss in the fourth quarter than Wall Street anticipated.

The announcement came as Stewart was about to enter the third week of her five-month prison sentence at Alderson, W. Va., for lying about a stock sale.

Martha Stewart Living posted a loss of $14.97 million, or 30 cents per share, during the three-month period ended Sept. 30. That compared with a loss of $3.94 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Westport-based Pequot Capital Management, a superpowerful $7 billion hedge fund that is one of the nation’s largest, today announced that it has expanded its investment management team by adding two seasoned professionals.

The fund, which is based in the Nyala Farm office complex off of Greens Farms Road and I-95, said Michael M. Takata, co-founder and former general partner of Ulysses Partners, and Ramu Thiagarajan, a former managing director of Mellon Capital, have joined Pequot Capital as a managing director and a principal, respectively.

Pequot also announced today that Peter Dartley, former director of trading and a managing director of Pequot, has rejoined the firm as vice chairman and director of business development.

Employee-owned, Pequot Capital offers funds that focus on technology, health care services, and small-cap firms to institutional investors and wealthy individuals.