Jewelry Maker Pandora Bets on ‘Gen Z’ to Boost Sales

The Pandora logo is seen in jewelry shop in downtown Rome, Italy, August 7, 2018. (Reuters)
The Pandora logo is seen in jewelry shop in downtown Rome, Italy, August 7, 2018. (Reuters)
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Jewelry Maker Pandora Bets on ‘Gen Z’ to Boost Sales

The Pandora logo is seen in jewelry shop in downtown Rome, Italy, August 7, 2018. (Reuters)
The Pandora logo is seen in jewelry shop in downtown Rome, Italy, August 7, 2018. (Reuters)

Danish jewelry maker Pandora plans to produce edgy pieces to attract young shoppers and significantly boost sales in the United States and China to meet a revenue growth target of 6-8% over 2021-2023 it announced on Tuesday.

The world’s largest jewelry maker by production capacity said it was also targeting an operating profit margin of 25-27% in 2023 and boosted its ongoing share buyback, driving its shares up more than 4%.

Pandora has looked to refresh its image to appeal to the so-called “Gen Z” - people aged six to 25 whom Bank of America says represents some 2.5 billion people who make up 32% of the global population, followed by “Millenials” aged 25 to 40 at 22%.

"If you look at Generation Z and Millenials, by 2025 they are expected to constitute over 60% of the luxury consumption in the world so we need to sharpen our pens," CEO Alexander Lacik told Reuters.

The company generates 70% of its sales from its Moment platform based on silver bracelets with collectable charms but is hoping to build a new growth pillar with pieces catering to younger people.

It will soon launch more pieces in its Pandora Me collection, which has previously been promoted by English actor and model Millie Bobby Brown, and is both cheaper and has a more raw look than conventional pieces with for example safety brooches or chains.

Lacik took over the helm in 2019 after the previous CEO was ousted following several profit warnings and a lack of new innovative products.

A top priority for Lacik is to gain a foothold in China, the world’s largest jewelry market, where its brand penetration is still very low.

Pandora said it aims to triple revenue in China compared to 2019 levels and double sales in the United States.

To meet demand, it will invest 1 billion Danish crowns ($159 million) in expanding its manufacturing capacity by around 60%, or 80 million pieces of jewelry annually, by building a new factory in Vietnam and expanding its existing plants in Thailand



UK Retailer Next Expects to Join 1 Billion Pound Profit Club

Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
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UK Retailer Next Expects to Join 1 Billion Pound Profit Club

Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
Signage on the exterior of a Next clothing retail store is seen in London, Britain, March 25, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Next said on Wednesday it expected to report annual profit in excess of 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) for the first time in its history, underscoring the success of the British clothing retailer.
The group raised its outlook again after a better-than-expected 7.6% rise in third quarter to Oct. 26 full-price sales, driven by the early arrival of colder weather this year, versus an unusually warm September and early October last year, Reuters reported.
Breaking through the 1 billion pound profit mark would cap Next's position as one of the best run retailers in Britain, having found a successful recipe combining more than 800 stores in the UK and Ireland and nearly 8 million online customers.
It also has nearly 2 million overseas customers buying through its website and many more who buy its products via third party websites, or so-called aggregators.
The strong performance, which puts it in the ranks of supermarket Tesco and clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer as British retailers to have made a profit of over 1 billion pounds, has sent its shares up by 47% over the last year, hitting a record high in September.
The company, which is considered a useful gauge of how consumers are faring, raised its guidance for the fourth quarter by 1 percentage point to 3.5%. It was the third increase to its outlook in four months.
It said the improved sales in the third quarter along with its forecast for the fourth quarter added 43 million pounds to full-price sales and 10 million pounds to profit.
That took its profit guidance for the 2024-25 year from 995 million pounds to 1.005 billion.
Official data published earlier this month showed UK retail sales unexpectedly rose in September. However, other retailers have said shoppers remained nervous about spending on discretionary items ahead of the new Labour government's budget statement later on Wednesday.