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Tag: Pandora

  • Pandora lays off 180 staff due to reorganization

    Pandora lays off 180 staff due to reorganization

    Danish jewelry giant Pandora has announced a new company structure that will eliminate an organizational layer between the global headquarters and local markets with the aim of getting closer to the customer and speeding up the execution of marketing campaigns and product launches.

    Effective April 2, Pandora will close its three regional organizations (Americas, EMEA, and Asia Pacific) and group the 100-plus markets where it operates into 10 clusters, each headed by a GM.

    The GMs, based in the largest market in each cluster, will report to a newly established chief commercial officer position, who will report directly to Pandora’s president and CEO, Alexander Lacik, and be part of the executive leadership team.

    The three current regional presidents will step down from the executive leadership team and 180 employees from regional offices and markets will leave the company.

    The total cost of the reorganization is expected to amount to around US$197 million, with one-off costs of around $30 million, primarily related to severance payments, additional consultancy support, extraordinary recruitment costs and other costs of closing down the regional offices.

    David Allen, currently president of Pandora EMEA will stay with Pandora and support the company’s turnaround plan, Programme Now, while Sid Keswani, current president of Pandora Americas, will become president of the North America cluster.

    Kenneth Madsen, current president of Pandora Asia Pacific, will leave the company.

    The cost reductions from the redundancies of 180 employees are expected to be largely offset by costs related to the further strengthening of the global organization, limiting the net cost savings.

    Lacik said in a statement that the new structure would ensure feedback from customers was incorporated into new designs more quickly.

    “The reorganization will reduce organizational complexity, enable Pandora to execute with more speed and agility, and add critical capabilities required to support growth,” he said.

  • Waze app gains Pandora integration on Android and iOS

    Waze app gains Pandora integration on Android and iOS

    Waze, Google Maps’ rival, and Pandora, the music streaming company have just announced they have teamed up to offer Android and iOS users the option to soundtrack their travel experience on mobile phones.

    If you’re a Pandora fan, you’ll now be able to listen to your favorite tunes on both iOS and Android devices across all tiers of the music streaming service, as well as personalize your experience directly inside the Waze app via an embedded audio player.

    Thanks to the new Pandora integration, drivers will now be able to navigate and listen to music simultaneously without ever leaving the map. Since the integration goes both ways, if you open Pandora, you’ll be able to use Waze’s navigation features.

    In order to connect Pandora with Waze, simply download the navigation app from the Google Play or App Store if you don’t have it already, tap on the music icon on the top right of the map, and select the Pandora icon. Also, make sure that the sound is turned on so that you can listen to music.

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  • New Pandora NOW original music experience Went Live last April 4th

    New Pandora NOW original music experience Went Live last April 4th

    SiriusXM and Pandora have just announced a brand new exclusive music experience available for subscribers of the former and listeners of the latter: Pandora NOW. The feature mixes “Pandora’s extensive listener data” and “SiriusXM’s curatorial expertise” to offer users some of the most popular and fast-trending music available at any given moment.

    If you’re a SiriusXM listener, Pandora NOW will be available as a new curated channel (Channel 3), while Pandora users can experience it as an interactive station with song skipping and thumbs up/down rating, or as a continually-updated playlist for Pandora Premium subscribers.

    Another interesting thing about the new feature is that the music played on Pandora NOW will be uncensored and showcase the most listened to and fastest-trending new music on Pandora across all genres, including Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, Dance and Latin.

    Last but not least, to celebrate the launch of Pandora NOW, R&B superstar artist Khalid will be at SiriusXM’s Rockefeller Center studios on April 4 to launch the new channel and station on SiriusXM and Pandora.

  • Pandora asked to fix refund policies

    Pandora asked to fix refund policies

    Jewellery retailer Pandora has been told by the consumer watchdog to amend its refund and warranty policies in Australia following complaints from some of their customers.

    The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said they have received complaints from customers who were told by Pandora sales staff that they do not offer refunds to faulty products and that its own warranty policy applies instead of the protections afforded to consumers under Australian Consumer Law (ACL).

    According to ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court, the jewellery retailer acknowledged they may have misled customers about their legal rights.

    “Pandora has acknowledged that it may have misled customers about their consumer guarantee rights to refunds when there was a major fault with their product,” Court said. “They also have admitted that by doing so they likely breached the Australian Consumer Law.”

    Court said consumer rights to a repair, replacement or refund cannot be excluded, restricted or modified by a business’ warranty policy.

    “If consumers have purchased a product that has a major fault, they can request a full refund from their place of purchase,” she said.

    The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Pandora to review its consumer rights policies and staff training after Pandora acknowledged it is likely to have contravened the ACL by making misleading representations to consumers about their consumer guarantee rights.

    The ACCC’s investigation showed that Pandora’s website contained confusing or inaccurate information on consumer guarantee rights under the ACL.

    It also noted that information on Pandora’s website about its product warranty failed to include mandatory text that states that consumers are entitled to a replacement or repair, and in some cases a refund, if their goods are faulty.

    The ACCC said Pandora has undertaken to arrange for an external review of its policies and procedures relating to exchanges, repairs and refunds, to ensure customer claims for refunds and other remedies are dealt with appropriately and in accordance with the ACL.

    “Pandora will also conduct a review of its ACL compliance program and improve its staff training and complaints handling systems,” Court said.

  • Pandora launches Modes, a new feature for free and premium listeners

    Pandora launches Modes, a new feature for free and premium listeners

    Pandora has just announced it’s bringing a brand new feature to all customers using its music streaming service regardless if they pay for it or not. Dubbed Pandora Modes, the new feature allows both free and premium users to customize their playlists on their favorite Pandora stations.

    Using Pandora Modes, listeners will be able to switch from the classic Pandora station algorithm, currently called “My Station,” to one of five other preset modes that affect the types of songs that are played for each user.

    Basically, the more you “thumb up” or “thumb down” songs that you listen to on Pandora Modes within your station, the more personalized modes become. But here are the Pandora Modes that are now available for listeners and what they do:

    • My Station: The classic station experience you know and love.
    • Crowd Faves: You’ll hear the most thumbed-up songs by other listeners within that station
    • Deep Cuts: You’ll go deeper into the catalog of that station artist/genre.
    • Discovery: You’ll hear more artists who don’t usually play on that station.
    • Newly Released: You’ll hear the newest releases from that station artist/genre.
    • Artist Only: You’ll hear only songs by that station artist.

    In order to take advantage of these Pandora Modes, you have to go to one of your favorite stations or create a new one, select “Now Playing,” and they should show up for that particular station beneath its name.

    By default, the station will be switched to “My Station” mode, but you will be able to switch between all the modes mentioned above and stop to whichever suits your tastes. Keep in mind though the while the Pandora Modes are now available on the web, mobile users will only be able to use them in the coming months.

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  • Pandora appoints Alexander Lacik as chief executive officer

    Pandora appoints Alexander Lacik as chief executive officer

    The Board of Directors of Pandora has appointed Alexander Lacik as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lacik’s strong track-record as a consumer marketer and brand architect will help drive the execution of Programme now and assert Pandora’s position as the world’s largest jewellery brand. He will join Pandora as soon as possible.

    Alexander Lacik (54) brings international experience from growth and brand building in global consumer companies. He joins Pandora from the position as CEO of Britax Ltd., a world leader in child safety products. Prior to this, he was President of North America at RB (Reckitt Benckiser) from 2013-2017 and has held key management positions with the leading global consumer goods company since 2004. Previously, Lacik held positions in sales and marketing with Procter & Gamble from 1992 to 2004.

    At RB, Lacik contributed significantly to the company’s growth turnaround in a competitive global consumer business where brand distinction and brand equity are critical components. He successfully drove strategic brand positioning and above market growth in the group’s largest region with more than USD 3.5 billion in revenue and a full value chain. Lacik has lived and worked in five countries and managed businesses in regions across the world, covering manufacturing, product development, sales, marketing, and retail partnering.

    Peder Tuborgh, Chairman of the Board of Directors says: “I am delighted that we have secured Alexander Lacik as CEO of Pandora. Alexander is a strong match for our recently announced strategic direction and will be instrumental in executing Programme NOW. Alexander is a brilliant marketer and brand architect and has throughout his career shown himself as a great leader and a highly effective executor. His skills and experience will be key to revitalising the Pandora brand.”

    “I am honoured and excited to join Pandora. Pandora is an incredible company that has grown to be the world’s largest jewellery brand at unprecedented speed. I am encouraged by the current direction with a strong focus on brand reignition to restore growth. These are business aspects that I am particularly passionate about, and I look forward to joining and supporting the management team in the execution of Programme NOW”, says Alexander Lacik.

    Following the appointment, The Executive Management team of Pandora will consist of Alexander Lacik (CEO), Anders Boyer (CFO) and Jeremy Schwartz (COO). Until Lacik joins, the joint leadership of Anders Boyer and Jeremy Schwartz will continue unchanged.

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  • Pandora sales declining, relies on China

    Pandora sales declining, relies on China

    Jewellery retailer Pandora is looking to China, India and Latin America to arrest a decline in global sales. The Danish company has unveiled an initiative that it hopes will reignite sustainable revenue growth, Programme Now, after group revenue dropped 3 per cent in the third quarter of this year.

    Under the program, Pandora will significantly reduce its franchise acquisitions and scale back new store openings. For the stores it does open, it will concentrate on growth markets, such as China, India and Latin America. It hopes the move will grow like-for-like sales, if not total sales.

    To achieve this, the business plans to enhance its marketing, personalisation, digital and e-commerce capabilities, as well as the in-store customer experience.

    Pandora also noted that part of its success moving forward lies in execution in all parts of the value chain, as well as more closely coordinating parts of the business to work in tandem, to reduce costs.

    The implementation of the program, as well as the weak third-quarter results, however, have led the company to revise its full-year earnings guidance. It has cut its annual revenue forecast from between 4 and 7 per cent to between 2 and 4 per cent, or DKK 1.2 billion to DKK 1.4 billion (US$184 million to $214 million).

    “The third quarter results were unsatisfactory and we adjust our full year guidance,” Pandora CFO Anders Boyer said.

    “We have taken the first major step in the programme today by changing our network expansion plan. We have confidence in a strong future for Pandora and will use this year and next to reset the business.”

    Pandora expects revenue and total like-for-like growth to be impacted through to 2020 by the planned reduction of mark-downs, though this is likely to cause a margin neutral result on the group level.

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  • Pandora opens fifth concept store at New Delhi Terminal 1D

    Pandora opens fifth concept store at New Delhi Terminal 1D

    Pandora has recently opened its fifth store at New Delhi Terminal 1D. This will be the third store opening in 2018 for Pandora. The brand launched its first store at DLF Mall of India, Noida in April 2017, followed by Select Citywalk in September 2017, DLF Promenade in April 2018 and Galleria Market Gurgaon in June 2018.

    The contemporary and aesthetically designed concept store is located on the ground floor of the domestic airport in the departure holding area of Terminal 1D, New Delhi. The new store carries the entire Pandora jewellery collection available worldwide, including the moments collection, the essence collection, Pandora Rose collection; the all-new 18k gold plated sterling silver-Pandora shine collection.

    Pandora has always encouraged women to empower themselves by celebrating their achievements. These collections are designed to capture life’s unforgettable moments at affordable prices.

    Speaking on the opening, Kanika Bakshi Talwar and Devika Bakshi, Managing Director, say, “We are proud to enter a different format of a concept store, our first in any airport in the country. This store will cater to a large variety of domestic shoppers outside of Delhi NCR and spread the excitement across various cities. Accessibility to our products would be easier now for travelers and we hope to expand further and provide an opportunity for all Indian consumers to acquire their Pandora products in the near future.”

    The Terminal 1D store is a medium size concept store, with all collections available in-store, and is aesthetically designed to give customers ample browsing space to make their shopping experience very comfortable in-transit.

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  • PE Funds are interested in a jewelry company

    PE Funds are interested in a jewelry company

    The stock added as much as 11 percent, the most since May 2016, after Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore said KKR and Bain Capital are among private-equity funds that could be studying a dossier on Pandora.

    Sole, which did not cite anyone for its reporting, said the jewelry maker is a “perfect target” for buyout funds.

    Before Tuesday, Pandora shares were down more than 60 percent from a May 2016 peak as the bracelet maker has battled weak retail sales in the U.S., competition from cheap imports in China and a phalanx of hedge funds betting against it.

    The market value of Pandora is now roughly $7 billion compared with a 2016 peak of $18 billion. The stock is currently trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.2. That’s the lowest among a peer group of nine international jewelry companies, which have an average PE ratio of 15 (including Pandora’s), according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

    Johan Melchior, a Pandora spokesman, said he didn’t immediately have any comment, when contacted by phone.

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  • Pandora’s 2018 achievements

    Pandora’s 2018 achievements

    Environmental, social, and governance concerns are growing everyday and progressively taking a e prominent place in business decisions across all industries.

    The demand for investing strategies based on ESG, factors is being driven by women and millennials, who, by 2025, will make up three-quarters of the workforce.

    Morgan Stanley’s annual ESG rating of the fashion industry once again found Pandora ahead of the heard. Indeed, for the second year in a row, the Danish jewellery manufacturer and retailer ranked ahead of renowned companies such as Kering, Adidas, Nike, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Dior and Hermes.

    Source: Morgan Stanley

    Pandora is praised for their responsible purchasing of gold and silver and for excellent labour conditions.

    Trine Pondal, Pandora’s Head of Sustainability, renewed the company’s wish to make “jewellery as sustainable as possible, while also making sure that our employees all over the world enjoy good working conditions”.

    “We believe that our initiatives in this area not only benefit Pandora but also our suppliers and the rest of the jewellery industry”, he said.

    Pandora’s work in the ESG field has been made possible through close monitoring of the company’s process from manufacturing to distributing.

    As part of the company’s strategy to increase its own operated retail footprint in important markets, Pandora is taking back complete ownership of the brand in Greater China as it today signed an agreement with Carrera Corporation to acquire its Pandora store network in Taiwan on 1 January 2019.

    With the agreement, Pandora will add five concept stores and 14 shop-in-shops to its retail network giving the company complete ownership of the brand and distribution in Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).

    Pandora will pay approximately HKD 120 million (DKK 100 million) in cash for the assets. The sell-out revenue in Taiwan was HKD 240 million in 2017.

    Kenneth Madsen, President of Asia Pacific in Pandora, believes “having complete ownership in Greater China will support Pandora’s growth and development strategy in the entire Asia Pacific region”.

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  • Pandora China soon to be in one roof

    Pandora China soon to be in one roof

    Pandora in China is about to be united under one business.

    The Danish contemporary jewellery manufacturer is moving to increase control of its brand by acquiring its Taiwanese store network from controlling distributor Carrera Corporation as of January 2019.

    The deal will give Pandora in China complete ownership of its distribution and retailing activities, including the mainland, Hong Kong and Macau. It is part of Pandora’s strategy to increase its owner-operated retail footprint in important markets.

    Along with the agreement, Pandora will be adding five concept stores and 14 shop-in-shops to its retail network. Some 100 store staff will transfer to Pandora.

    President of Asia Pacific in Pandora Kenneth Madsen said that for many years, Taiwan has been an important market for the company.

    “Pandora is a leader in the jewellery segment among Taiwanese consumers and we see attractive expansion opportunities. Having complete ownership in greater China will support our growth and development strategy in the entire Asia-Pacific region.”

    Pandora will pay about HKD120 million (US$15.3 million) in cash for the assets. Carrera’s distribution rights were set to expire on January 1, 2019.

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  • New China chief for Pandora

    New China chief for Pandora

    Only two weeks after the official announcement of Anders Colding Friis’ resignation as Pandora’s CEO, the Danish jeweller seems to be on a roll to bring some changes to the company .

    The company tapped former Nike employee Geena Tok to head its business in China, where the Danish company has been challenged by a rise in sales on the grey market where an increasing number of jewellery pieces are being imported from other markets and sold online.

    Indeed, earlier this May, the Danish Jeweller announced a surprising slowdown in China, which accounted for about 12 percent of its total sales.

    With over 200 stores in the region, Pandora is striving to stay competitive and, in this scope, announced it would lower retail prices in the country by an average of 15 percent.

    Tok joins from Nike where she was leading the sports retailer’s stores and e-commerce business. In her 17-year tenure, Geena worked in the United States, Thailand, India and now China. She will now take over Anthony Asinas’ position following his appointment as Pandora’s Hong Kong and Macau chief.

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  • What’s happening at Pandora?

    What’s happening at Pandora?

    Pandora said it expects to make less sales revenues in 2018, despite plans to open some 250 retail stores globally, of which 25% will be in Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, the ailing Danish jeweller dismissed its CEO last week amid staff cuts of hundreds of employees.

    Anders Colding Friis is stepping down as President and CEO of the company effective as of 31 August 2018. Pandora’s CFO, Anders Boyer, and the newly recruited COO, Jeremy Schwartz, who joins September 1, will be jointly responsible for replace Friis until a new CEO is found, according to a press release from the Copenhagen-based firm.

    Meanwhile, staff cuts operationally will affect 397 globally, including 218 staff in pandoraThailand.

    Pandora adjusted its 2018 financial guidance for 2018 just three days prior, and said the move reflects lacklustre results for the second quarter, as well as weaker than anticipated total like-for-like sales-out growth in July.

    Pandora said new charms have failed to sell as well as expected, adding that a change in inventory levels and a soft performance in the wholesale channel have also made a negative impact on revenues.

    For 2018, expected revenue growth is now 4-7% in local currency from the previously 7-10%. Finally, Pandora said it now expects its earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation margin to be 32%, down 3 percentage points from its previous forecast.

    In the second quarter of this year, sales grew 4 percent in local currency to DKK 4.82bn. The EBTIDA margin was 31.1%, down from 33.4% in the second quarter of 2017.

    Furthermore, Pandora said it expects to add around 50 more concept stores in 2018. Some 60 of these are slated for the Asia-Pacific region.

    In July, Pandora lowered its prices in China across its jewellery collections for instore, online and on Tmall.

    “We are committed to servicing our Chinese customers and are very pleased with the opportunities for continued growth in China,” said Kenneth Madsen, President of Pandora’s Asia Pacific region.

    “This price reduction across our jewellery assortment is one element in our strategic programme to limit grey market trading of our products in China, and continue to enhance our customer experience in the world’s largest jewellery market.”

    Pandora first entered China in 2010, and today has 170 stores in 50 Chinese cities.

  • Pandora Thailand to axe staffs

    Pandora Thailand to axe staffs

    Danish jewellery manufacturer Pandora has announced it will cut 397 employees in organisational adjustments to align functions across the company and protect profitability.

    The proposed organisational changes are expected to reduce annual costs by around US$23.34 million from 2019, and will affect 218 employees based in Thailand.

    “We have made important progress on our 2022 strategy since we launched it last year, and are on the right long-term direction for Pandora,” said CEO Anders Colding Friis.

    “The adjustments we announce today will reduce complexity and free up resources that we can add to our strategic priorities. The adjustments are also – together with our procurement program – necessary to protect our profitability.

    “Sadly, the changes mean that good employees will lose their jobs, and we are supporting them in the best possible way.”

    The jewellery manufacturer also announced changes to “strengthen cooperation” between sales, marketing and merchandising; implement a centralised operations and supply chain structure to streamline manufacturing; and shift more resources to strategic priorities such as digital and e-commerce.

    Grey market

    The changes come less than a month after the company committed to reducing its retail prices in China in order to combat an emerging ‘grey market’, potentially losing revenue in a large area of growth for the company – having grown by double or triple digits each year since entering the Chinese market in 2010.

    The reduction amounted to an average of 15 per cent off retail prices, both on the online store and the Tmall flagship store.

    “This price reduction across our jewellery assortment is one element in our strategic programme to limit grey market trading of our products in China,” said Kenneth Madsen, president of Pandora Asia-Pacific.

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  • Vincom Centre Landmark 81 launched

    Vincom Centre Landmark 81 launched

    Vingroup has opened its 55th shopping centre, The Vincom Center Landmark 81 mall, in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district.

    The 50,000sqm shopping centre occupies six of the skyscraper’s 81 storeys, housing 100 domestic and international brands in cosmetics, fashion, F&B, and entertainment.

    Fashion brands include Versace Jeans, Calvin Klein, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, French Connection, Kimmay, Superdry, H:Connect; Cole Haan, Ecco, Dune London, Parfois, Aldo, Pandora, Longines, OWL and Nike.

    The 7000sqm food and beverage area features 30 restaurants, including China’s Peach Garden, Japan’s Dozo Sushi, Vietnamese restaurants Delights, Di Mai, and coffee shops including Starbucks’ largest Vietnam outlet and Highlands Coffee.

    In the entertainment area, there is a 2000sqm Vincom Ice Rink, Vietnam’s largest, and a CGV cinema complex including an Imax screen, as well as a tiNiWorld entertainment complex and an indoor games centre.

    Vingroup’s food arm VinMart operates a supermarket there.

    Go to gallery below to view the launching event :
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