Karin Adcock named NSW Business Woman of the Year

Posted September 28, 2010 | By Sonia Nair

Pandora’s Karin Adcock has won the 2010 Telstra New South Wales Business Woman of the Year Award.

Adcock is managing director of Pandora Australia and was the first person to introduce the brand to this country. Her business is often credited with having helped revitalise the Australian jewellery industry and driving the recent charm boom.

Adcock, who also won the Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award, edged out 15 competitors in her category to win the NSW Business Woman of the Year Award. She described the win as “very overwhelming”.

“I felt proud that as a team, we have got to the stage where Pandora’s success is recognised at this level,” Adcock told Jeweller. “I also felt humbled as the other candidates for the award are such inspirational women.”

Adcock first started Pandora Australia from a garage in Avalon in October 2004. When she first started marketing the product to traditional jewellery companies, Adcock recalls how they liked the product but were cautious about endorsing it. To prove them wrong, she worked hard at generating demand from customers and once the demand was there, retailers embraced the brand.

As Pandora’s customer base grew, the garage developed into a business headquartered in Warriewood, NSW. Adcock now employs 280 staff and manages 34 branded concept stores as well as 732 points of sale across Australia and New Zealand.

“When I was initially introducing Pandora, I felt sure that Australian women would love it and this award recognises that first instinct [of mine],” Adcock told Jeweller.

Telstra chief marketing officer and Telstra Business Women’s Awards Ambassador Kate McKenzie said the award is designed to celebrate successful female entrepreneurs whose leadership qualities and achievements would provide inspiration for women across New South Wales.

“Karin Adcock demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and took calculated risks when establishing her business,” McKenzie said.

The judges described Adcock as “an inspirational employer with sound financial acumen who has a growth strategy in place, long-term vision and an understanding of where her business is headed.”

Adcock attributed the success of Pandora to the high quality of the product and her staff members.

“Pandora has been successful because of the five ‘P’s. It is a great product, well priced, well positioned and excellently promoted. We have employed great people who are passionate about the part they play in the success of Pandora.”

Adcock said the award acknowledged that “Pandora will continue to grow and develop” and that its “plans for the future and [its] management strategies have real merit”.

Her words of wisdom for other emerging female entrepreneurs were: “You have nothing to lose. In your everyday work and in all of your dealings, stay true to your own values.”

Adcock, along with other winners of the New South Wales business awards, will be entered for the national finals of the 2010 Telstra Business Women’s Awards. The results will be announced in Melbourne on September 11. More than 430 women have won the Telstra Business Women’s Awards since the programme launched in 1995.

More reading:
The Pandora phenomenon
Birth of brand Pandora