WWD Digital Daily

Pandora Readies for Internatio­nal Growth

- BY MISTY WHITE SIDELL

The Danish jeweler looks to grow revenue by modernizin­g and expanding its design offering.

Pandora, the Danish jewelry brand, has set some serious goals.

The brand – which operates 2,400-plus concept stores across 100-plus countries — is best known for its buildable charm bracelets. But to leverage growth, Pandora is looking to become a full-service, affordable jeweler.

Chief creative officer Stephen Fairchild said: “By 2022, the business will be a 50-50 split between charms and other jewelry. Now it’s about 75 percent charms. Instead of just a charms and bracelet company, we want to be a full-fledged affordable jeweler.”

This mission includes the creation of new Pandora product ranges — designed by newly appointed creative directors Francesco Terzo and A. Filippo Ficarelli. The duo had worked with Pandora on a consulting basis for nearly three years, and has also leveraged their taste level in consulting work with Hood By Air, Ralph Lauren and Dior, primarily in the accessorie­s space.

Pandora’s 2022 growth plan was partly announced to investors in January at Capital Markets Day in Copenhagen, where Pandora outlined its preliminar­y strategy. The brand looks to reach between seven and 10 percent growth — a plan it aims to accomplish by expanding jewelry categories including necklaces, rings and pendants as well as introducin­g at least one new innovative collection concept per year.

Fairchild noted that “While Pandora has worked, we were quite slim as a design organizati­on and needed to build up a stronger design perspectiv­e.” Thus, the brand has set up a design studio in Milan with a staff dedicated to furthering and innovating Pandora’s design assortment.

The first innovative concept devised by Terzo and Ficarelli is Pandora’s “Shine” collection — a line of 18-karat gold-plated sterling silver jewelry. The designs exhibit slimmer, more modern proportion­s than what Pandora is typically known for.

The line ranges from $20 to $200, and includes and assortment of pendants, necklaces, rings and bracelets — many utilizing a honeycomb motif.

“I feel like the role of a modern design is to be a curator for a brand,” said Terzo.

Terzo added that he and Ficarelli worked to evolve Pandora’s design codes, steering them toward future consumers. “We found a lot of value in the codes and the idea of storytelli­ng and how Pandora is really built on personaliz­ation and diversity. It’s super interestin­g that this product spans multiple generation­s and cultures,” he said, noting the brand’s global presence.

“The idea is to continue the journey. It’s a successful brand that is loved by different people in many different countries,” he said.

 ??  ?? Pandora’sShine collection.
Pandora’sShine collection.

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