Pandora’s Making a Move on the Indian Market

Copenhagen, Denmark--Pandora is out to conquer a new market.

The Danish bead and jewelry company, which has approximately 9,000 points of sale across 100 countries, will distribute its products in India for the first time through an exclusive partnership with Pan India Charms & Jewellery Private Limited (Pan India).

Pan India is owned by three individuals, one of whom is the McDonald’s “master franchise owner” in Northern India.

Pandora said via a press release that through Pan India it will concentrate on branded sales distribution through concept stores and shop-in-shops, initially concentrating on Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Pandora plans to open 50 stores over the next three years in those cities, including five locations in 2017, the first of which will open in the first quarter of this year.

Pandora CEO Anders Colding Friis commented, “Retailing and conceptual sales in India is developing at a fast pace. Furthermore, jewelry as a fashion statement is increasingly popular among consumers and with India already being one of the largest jewelry markets in the world, the country holds a great potential for Pandora.”

“With our new partner and distributor,” Colding Friis continued, “who has substantial knowledge and experience with the Indian retail market, we believe we have a unique opportunity to position Pandora as a leading international jewelry brand in India.”

Pandora said that the overall jewelry market in India increased 18 percent year-over-year in 2015.

According to Euromonitor, from 2016 to 2021 the jewelry market is predicted to grow at a 7 percent compound annual rate.

Indian jewelry is predominantly a gold, diamond and gemstone market, with sterling silver accounting for 5 percent of sales.

Pandora is a Copenhagen-based company that has been creating affordable fashion jewelry since 1982. Pandora is manufactured close to India, in nearby Thailand, where 12,000 of the company’s 18,000 employees are located. 

On National Jeweler’s 2016 State of the Majors list, outlining the top jewelry retailers in North America, Pandora ranked No. 32 on the Supersellers list and No. 21 on the Top 50 Retail Jewelry Chains by store count list.