China dampens Pandora’s 2021 performance: report

And yet, the market remains high up Pandora's priorities.

Luxury brand Pandora delivered a strong performance in 2021 after its net profit rose to DKK4.16b from DKK1.93b in 2020, but the company reported it was dragged by its China market.

Revenue in China declined to DKK1.12b in 2021 from DKK1.26b, according to Pandora’s financial report. Likewise, the brand saw its revenue slip to DKK1.13b from DKK1.12b and to DKK1.12b from DKK1.15b in Australia and France, respectively.

Pandora noted its performance in China and Australia amongst other Asian markets were heavily impacted by the pandemic.

“China was a drag on 2021 performance, but remains a high priority for Pandora,” the report read in part.

Pandora had planned investments in China in the second half of 2021 that was delayed to 2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Store traffic in China also suffered after footfall decreased by up 20 70%, compared to 2019.

This is in line with Pandora’s long-term plan to triple its revenue in China compared to 2019. The brand had outlined a two-phased plan in further growing its revenue in China.  

“First, Pandora will solidify the brand by establishing the core proposition of collectability, affordability and self-[1]expression,” Pandora noted.

“This work involves many areas of the business, including a redesign of our marketing communication to make it more relevant, a transformation of our customer experience online and offline to make it more meaningful, and an optimisation of our product assortment and commercial calendar to better engage Chinese consumers.”

After this, the brand will launch the second phase through growing its store network.

“Both the US and China plans have a common, key element: our people. Having the right teams in our markets and supporting functions is critical to fuel our ambitions. We have therefore been investing in recruitment and internal development to bring on board and retain world-class talent.”

The United States is amongst Pandora’s top performing market in 2021 after it reached DKK7.02b from DKK4.50b in 2020.

DKK1 = USD0.15