Editor’s Note
This article provides a brief history of Pandora, from its 1982 origins as a Copenhagen family jewelry business to its evolution into an international brand. It highlights the company’s shift to wholesale and early steps toward scaling production and design.
Pandora was founded in Copenhagen in 1982 by goldsmith Per Enevoldsen and his wife Winnie. It began as a family jewelry business, later consolidating into an international brand producing customizable bracelets, rings, necklaces, and watches.
Over time, demand for the products grew considerably, and consequently, the Enevoldsens focused their attention on wholesale distribution. The business continued to improve, and in 1988 Enevoldsen hired designers, and in 1989 opened a production site in northern Thailand, on the outskirts of Chiang Mai.
In 2000, Pandora launched its iconic charm bracelet, which has become famous worldwide. Initially, Pandora’s sales were limited to Europe, later expanding to North America in 2003. In 2009, it introduced its franchise model in Australia, later replicating the project in many other countries. The company is present in one hundred countries and employs more than 9,000 people. The total points of sale are 9,271, most of which are in the United States but are also present in Europe and Asia Pacific, with North America generating the majority of its revenue.
In terms of sales, Pandora is the world’s third-largest jewelry manufacturer, after Cartier and Tiffany & Co.
The group has experienced spectacular growth in recent years, allowing it to grow from 200 stores in 2009 to more than 800 in 2012, quadrupling its points of sale.
In 2008, the Danish private equity group Axcel purchased 60% of the shares from the Enevoldsen family.
In 2017, it recorded revenue of 3.1 billion euros, an increase of 12%. The top sales region was the USA (711 million euros), followed by the UK (380 million) and Italy (350 million). Pandora’s main competitors in this area are Cartier and Tiffany & Co., followed by other companies such as Christ in Germany and Chow Tai Fook in China. A significant part of the competition does not come directly from specialized jewelry companies, but from companies that diversify their activities through such items. Examples are Dior, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton from the LVMH group, which have long been creating jewelry collections.
In 2015, Pandora and Walt Disney initiated a commercial partnership covering the markets of Australia, China, and Japan.
The shareholding structure of Pandora consists of 43% held by European institutional investors, 13% by Danish institutional investors, 7% by other investors, 5% by BlackRock, and 4.40% in treasury shares.
Pandora’s stock price is currently listed on the NASDAQ OMX Nordic Copenhagen Main Market Large in Denmark.
In 2017, the total market capitalization of the Pandora group was DKK 73,186.06 million.