The company operates in 100 countries which will be grouped into 10 ‘clusters’ headed by a general manager. The general managers will report to the chief commercial officer – a new executive position that is yet to be filled.
Previously, Pandora’s country general managers reported to the presidents of three clusters – Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) – who then reported to CEO Alexander Lacik in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lacik said the new structure would “bring our global headquarters closer to our local markets and consumers and ensure that feedback from consumers can more quickly fuel new concept creations.”
He added, “The reorganisation will reduce organisational complexity, enable Pandora to execute with more speed and agility, and add critical capabilities required to support growth.”
Pandora management confirmed 180 roles would be made redundant in the restructuring.
Among the staff members leaving the company is Kenneth Madsen, president Pandora Asia-Pacific. Madsen had been in the role for seven years, and with Pandora for more than a decade. He was based in Hong Kong.
David Allen, president Pandora EMEA, will stay with the company in an unspecified role. Allen was previously president of Pandora Australia between 2012 and 2015 before being promoted to the Copenhagen-based EMEA role.
The Asia-Pacific region will be divided into China, Pacific and Rest-of-Asia clusters.
A spokesperson for Pandora confirmed to Jeweller that Phil McNutt, managing director Pandora Australia, will continue as general manager of the Pacific cluster – comprising Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.
Jeweller contacted McNutt regarding potential job losses and staffing changes at Pandora Australia’s head office in Sydney, but those questions went unanswered.
When asked about the impact of the restructure on Australian and New Zealand retailers, the spokesperson said the advantage would be “faster and more consistent execution, with more impactful products and marketing concepts”.
No specific information was provided.
Notably, a key element of the international restructure is the appointment of a chief commercial officer based in Copenhagen, whose responsibilities include improving ‘global merchandising, store development, planning and execution’ as well as overseeing retail estate and supporting ‘franchise partners’.
Coronavirus closures continue
The spread of the coronavirus, also known as covid-19, has led to the temporary closure of 30 Pandora stores in Italy.
The country is Pandora Jewelry’s third-largest market and has 148 stores in total.
Italian authorities extended quarantine measures nationwide this week, following restrictions on public gatherings and non-essential travel in Lombardy and 14 other provinces.
At the time of publication, the country had recorded more than 9,000 coronavirus infections and 463 deaths, second to China in the number of cases and fatalities.
Earlier this year, Pandora closed more than 100 stores in Mainland China as a result of the epidemic.
“On a normal day, we would have shy of 200 customers come through a store in China. During the worst period of February, we only had around 15 customers through the stores that remained open,” CEO Lacik told Reuters.
At the time of publication, 32 stores remained closed while 205 were open.
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