More store closures for Pandora
Danish jeweller Pandora has shut down approximately 30 per cent of its retail stores as of January compared to 10 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020 due to a recent spike in Covid-19 cases.
According to the company, organic growth in January was down 3 per cent while sell-out slid by 8 per cent from year-ago figures. “Organic growth was stronger than sell-out mainly due to phasing of sell-in related to Valentine’s Day to franchise partners,” explained Pandora. “In January 2020, the impact from Covid-19 was limited as the outbreak was mainly centred around China where the first store closures were reported January 22, 2020.”
Pandora earlier said business was up by 4 per cent in Q4 2020, which helped temper the company’s overall performance. Full-year organic growth was down by 11 per cent, slightly better than a 14 to 17 per cent drop predicted in November 2020.
The company remains upbeat however, eyeing an 8 per cent growth in 2021. Alexander Lacik, president and CEO of Pandora, commented, “We continue to invest strongly in building brand desirability, digital capabilities and operational excellence – which will be key foundations as we gradually move from transformation to growth mode.”
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