Pandora has celebrated a 13% increase in sales, up to £3.53bn for the full 2024 year, driven by strong online performance.
Ecommerce accounted for 27% of revenues, with the brand crediting the performance of its core jewellery collections.
A company profile in the Europe Luxury 2024 report looks at how Pandora, founded in 1982, taps into the growing sweet spot for affordable luxury jewellery – and has capitalised on this across Europe.
The company’s well-known customisable charm bracelet is the key to its success. Designed to allow its fashion-conscious GenZ and Millennial customer base to express themselves, the regularly updated range of charms are not only a relatively low cost of entry to luxury jewellery, but the collectable nature of the charms leads to repeat business.
The brand does face challenges however, not least fluctuating currency exchange rates and increased competition. The European luxury market has been tough for the past two years and affordable luxury brands face pressure on two fronts: non-luxury brands are upping their offering into low-end luxury, while high-end luxury brands are rolling out their own affordably luxury ranges.
Beyond these travails, Pandora stands out for its recent shift towards sustainability. In December 2023, the company made a significant move by switching to 100% recycled gold and silver for all its jewellery. This decision was driven by a growing concern over the environmental impact of mining virgin metals – including deforestation, water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycled metals require significantly less energy and resources, reducing their environmental footprint.
Consumers too are increasingly concerned about sustainability and ethical sourcing. This move aligns Pandora with their values and strengthens brand image. Additionally, by using recycled metals, Pandora ensures greater transparency in its supply chain, addressing growing consumer demand for ethically sourced materials.
This shift isn’t just about marketing; it’s a strategic move with several other tangible benefits. For example, recycled metals can be slightly cheaper than virgin metals, potentially leading to cost savings and improved margins. Exploring and incorporating recycled materials also fosters innovation and the development of new, sustainable design solutions.
Pandora holds a significant market share in the European jewellery market, with consistent revenue streams despite fluctuations in recent years and this is clearly seen in the consumer data. An impressive 61.9% of GenZ-ers have bought something from Pandora at least once in the past year, as have 50.7% of Millennials.
Even outside the company’s target audience, sales are strong. 44% of GenX and even 29.2% of Boomers have purchased something from the brand.
The spread of these shoppers emphasises the brands affordable luxury model, with just shy half of all income brackets shopping with the brand.
This, as stated, is thanks to the repeatable appeal of its core product. It is also testament to how it is also seen as an ideal gift, with the bracelet, then the charms, offering a solution for multiple birthdays and occasions beyond just a one-off purchase.
Pandora’s embrace of sustainability should also play well with its wide consumer base – not least at the younger end of the spread – and, with an ongoing focus on omnichannel and an ever improving ecommerce offering, the scene is set for the company to grow still further.
Adding new products could also help, but the company will have to go a long way to top the long-lasting marketing genius of its charm bracelet.
This is one profile from the Europe Luxury 2024 report. Our analysis of the European luxury market is illustrated with such profiles to showcase nine retailers standing out in the market. Each profile offers company profit and sales figures, share price and web traffic as well as a review of what makes their business exemplary: Coach, Farfetch, Gucci, Guerlain, Longines, Louis Vuitton, Lyst, and Ray-Ban.
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