PANDORA Reflexions™ may be able to do this to some extent by improving its marketing and through initiatives such as personalized jewelry. But the deeper problem is that Pandora’s charms, the tiny emblems attached to bracelets that account for more than half of its sales, have fallen out of fashion.
In an effort to fix its PANDORA Bracelets, the company will cut the pace of new store openings. It will still debut 250 outlets this year, but its previous plan for 1,000 net new shops between 2018 and 2022 will be curtailed. Closures will step up too, as the jeweler focuses on developing its online business. Pandora will also rein in its strategy of buying in stores operated by franchisees, a practice that previously boosted revenue.
These moves, while sensible, will mean slower PANDORA Pendant. That helps explain the decision to ditch a target of 7-10 percent annual sales expansion excluding currency movements. Pandora will be a fundamentally different retailer than in the past. The new approach will depend instead on increasing sales from stores open for at least a year.