Following the success of this year’s Pink Ribbon collection, Pandora will release a limited-edition range of charm bracelets for the 2011 charity initiative.
Pandora launched its Pink Ribbon collection in 2005, and donates the profits from all Pink Ribbon products directly to the Breast Cancer Foundations of Australia and New Zealand each October, to coincide with International Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Executive Trustee of the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation, Heather Shotter praised Pandora's Pink Ribbon initiatives in her acceptance speech at the New Zealand Jewellery Fair.
"It is one of the highest levels of commercial partnership that an organisation can have with The Foundation," Shotter said.
"Given the economic climate of the past year, it was a bold call and represents a huge commitment to the health and welfare of New Zealand women."
In 2006, Pandora raised $18,360 in Australia and NZ$4,186 in New Zealand. Those figures have now increased more than tenfold; for the 2009/2010 year, Pandora raised $600,000 in Australia and NZ$75,000 in New Zealand.
Pandora Australia’s head of marketing and communications Jeff Burnes is optimistic about the figures that will be raised this time around, and he added that “Our target next year is to raise between $850,000 and $1 million in Australia and $100,000 in New Zealand.”
The Breast Cancer Foundation is Pandora’s main charitable affiliation and the only charity it has designed special products for, despite having collaborated with many other organisations on a smaller scale.
“We chose to work with the Breast Cancer Foundation in particular because we just felt it resonated with our target market, being 25- to 49-year-old women,” Burnes explained.
“The targeted media market is much larger than the actual market because we believe we relate to all women, whether they’re affected directly or indirectly by breast cancer. They all do have some kind of affinity with this particular charity.”
Shotter highlighted the magnitude of people affected by breast cancer in New Zealand.
"Breast cancer is the number one cancer killer of New Zealand women with more than 2600 cases diagnosed every year. While the five year survival rate is now close to 85 per cent, New Zealand families still lose more than 650 women to the disease annually."
Since its inception in 2005, the fundraising initiative has progressed in leaps and bounds. Burnes attributed this to an increased awareness in Pink Ribbon initiatives and lauded retailers that held in-store events or had their own Pink Ribbon VIP events to promote understanding about the illness.
In 2009, Pandora launched a special single pink leather strap with an amulet for the cause. This year, Pandora revamped the design slightly by launching double pink leather straps with two fixed clips and an amulet.
Pandora IPO success
Separately, Pandora’s initial public offering (IPO) is tipped to become Europe’s fifth largest stock market listing this year, based on data from Thomson Reuters.
The Danish jewellery giant’s IPO got off to a flying start last week, and the company has now narrowed pricing guidance to between DKK200 and DKK210 ($38 and $40) a share, according to Reuters. The opening price range was between DKK175 and DKK225 ($33 and $43).
If shares sell at the top end of the new range, the total deal could reach DKK10 billion ($1.83 billion). The shares are due to start trading in Copenhagen on Tuesday October 5.
The IPO will allow private equity owner Axcel, which holds a 59.3 per cent stake in Pandora, to partially exit the business.