Euro Brands: Pandora

Posted May 01, 2014 |

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Denmark, Pandora designs hand-finished and modern jewellery made from genuine materials and is sold in more than 70 countries.

What is the brand’s philosophy?
To offer women across the world a universe of high-quality, hand-finished and beautiful, modern jewellery at affordable prices.

How does this philosophy work in the Australian and New Zealand markets?
We embrace this global philosophy for our Australian and New Zealand markets. It is a positive philosophy that is intrinsically connected to a greater idea about cherishing women as they are and making them feel special – and it resonates well with Australian and New Zealand women.

What are the differences between the Australian and New Zealand markets and the brand’s market of origin?

David Allen, Pandora Australia president

The greatest difference between the Australian/New Zealand market and the Danish market is in relation to seasonality. The markets lie in opposing hemispheres, so obviously the Australian summer occurs at the same time as the Danish winter and so on. In light of this, Pandora’s Australia/New Zealand team goes to great efforts to ensure that materials around new season releases have been made as relevant as possible to its locale.

Further to this significant difference, we also notice slight variations between special dates, occasions and purchase behaviours. We cannot share this activity in detail, but we know that certain markets are more likely to spend on certain kinds of items at certain times and that there are variations in values which are also likely to affect buying activity.

How many stockists do you have across in Australia and New Zealand?
Due to the fact that we are a publicly-listed company, we cannot share this information in detail.

How do you account for the brand’s success in Australia and New Zealand?
Pandora is one of those truly remarkable brands that resonates with a large number of women, and it offered something new and exciting when it entered the market. Pandora has also been able to retain devoted fans and attract new customers by balancing a commitment to its core branding with growth and innovation.

What is the brand’s most successful/innovative marketing campaign?
The “Year Of The Ring” campaign, which ran from late 2012 to late 2013, and showcased rings in stacks to suit different styles. The campaign was a local initiative and was hugely successful. It helped to drive awareness of “non-bracelet” product categories and resulted in substantial sales growth for the stackable rings category. The campaign has since been adopted as a global initiative.

What have been some major achievements/milestones for the brand?

The “game-changing” introduction of Pandora into the Australian market in 2004. When former Pandora Australia president Karin Adcock first introduced the modern charm bracelet to Australians, it was an entirely new concept. It also paved the way for other wholesale jewellery brands.

Internationally, Pandora’s achievements and milestones have included: the opening of its first large-scale, fully-owned production facility in Gemopolis, Thailand in 2005; the listing of the company on the NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 2010; the launch of Pandora Magazine in 2011; certification by the Responsible Jewellery Council in 2012; opening of the world’s largest concept store in London; and the launch of the Essence collection in 2013.

What are the benefits for retailers stocking your brand?
Retailers in the Pandora network receive a great deal of marketing, merchandising and sales support – from top-level initiatives to practical retail advice. Pandora retailers are also embraced as members of a special community. Of course, the product is a benefit too!

How should retailers use your brand to improve their overall business?
We encourage our retailers to work closely with the Pandora team to create a well-aligned and highly-engaging brand experience for their customers – from beautiful new collections to in-store events, digital integration, advertising, VM displays and tactical sales promotions.

What’s next for the brand?
Pandora is constantly evolving. While we can’t reveal too much about what’s ahead, we can say that there will be plenty of innovation and that we have an unflagging commitment to our customers.

Favourite product from the collection?
We have lots of favourites, but we all agree that the new sterling silver letter pendants set with cubic zirconia are sure to be very popular. They can be bought for necklace chains or bracelets.