Pandora 2015 Revenue Up 40% to $2.4 Billion

Pandora presented its preliminary 2015 report Wednesday, saying its revenue increased approximately 40 percent year-over-year to 16.7 billion Danish krone ($2.4 billion), exceeding its financial guidance of 16 billion Danish krone. The increase was aided by favorable foreign exchange rates of around 11 percent, a percent above what the company projected in November 2015.

The company’s preliminary EBITDA margin is 37 percent, one percentage point above its 2014 margin. The company, which has been in expansion mode, reports its capital expenditure in 2015 was approximately $1 billion Danish krone ($144 million), more than double its 2014 expenditure.

Pandora designs and markets its jewels at its Copenhagen, Denmark, headquarters and manufactures the pieces in Gemopolis, Thailand. Primarily known for its charms, it sells its jewelry through approximately 9,500 points of sale, including more than 1,600 branded stores, in more than 90 countries on six continents.

Pandora is publicly listed on the NASDAQ Copenhagen stock exchange in Denmark. In 2014, Pandora's total revenue was 11.9 billion Danish krone (approximately $1.7 billion).

Just over a week ago, Pandora made some news in Australia. It was reported that the company sent an email to its retailers in Australia warning them against working with Karin Adcock, the former president of Pandora in Australia and New Zealand. In 2013, she founded House of Brands, which recently became the exclusive distributor of fast-growing US fashion jewelry brand Alex & Ani, which competes in the same retail market as Pandora.

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Swarovski Teams with Chamilia for Personalized Bead Collection

Swarovski Blue Brown Bracelet

It’s not often that the famed crystal company Swarovski partners with others. In fact, the Austrian firm that uses its brand to produce everything from crystal keepsakes to resort spas may never have been in a joint collaboration before in its 116 year history. This has now changed.

Swarovski Pink Drop Chain

Swarovski says it understands that fashion savvy consumers want to wear unique products that express their personality and style; so it has decided to join forces with Chamilia, the Minneapolis-based personalized jewelry company, to present a joint collection of beads that customers can mix and match to design their own creations.

The co-branded collection integrates Swarovski’s crystal faceting skills with Chamilia’s fashion sense, says Michael Paxton, Chamilia president and CEO. A total of 205 crafted beads have been designed with a range of colors and themes. The glow of precision cut crystal stones are enhanced with sterling silver, refined and on-trend, providing customers with many possibilities.

Swarovski Brilliance Green Earrings

The collection will be available beginning in August in approximately 400 Swarovski stores in the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. With a price range from $30 to $100, the collection is designed to appeal to a variety of women.

Swarovski and Chamilia say it will be long-term collaboration.

Pandora’s Flower-Inspired Spring Jewelry Collections

Jewelry from the Spring Pandora collection.

Danish designer jewelry company, Pandora, launched a collection of jewelry inspired by colors and flowers that will begin to appear in stores in May and be enhanced with new pieces through the early part of summer. Known for its signature charm bracelet, this jewelry launch also includes a rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces and pendants.

“The vibrant colors and intricate details of flowers provide us with a color and inspiration palette designed by Mother Nature,” said Angel Ilagan, Chief Marketing Officer, Pandora North America.

The Copenhagen-based company’s first 2011 launch in the U.S. offers new charms for its Moments collection in a soft, romantic color palette that adds designs with precious metals, stones and gemstones. It includes birthstones and colored zirconia set in a bloom, as well as a range of new Murano glass beads and charms that represent personal symbols, such as a babushka doll and a four-leaf clover. Also new with this launch is a macrame bracelet ($105 - $235) to wear with, or without, a Pandora clip. Each bracelet takes approximately three hours to produce, making it the most time-intensive piece in the entire Pandora collection.

New rings have been added featuring muted floral details, hand-carved roses and small hearts. Rings come in sterling silver, 14k gold or two-tone and range in price from $35 to $995.

Smokey quartz and chalcedony make an appearance in the company’s Stories jewelry sets. The new launch also includes colorful cabochon bangle bracelets in sterling silver with a variety of gemstones. To meet these different occasions, pricing ranges from $45 to $845.

The Black Crown Diamond watch line offers Swiss-made craftsmanship at affordable prices. Women have more watch bands and bezels to select from in the Imagine and Double Oblong lines. Pandora has also added the Fleur line of watches featuring leather bands and a clean, circular face. Prices for interchangeable straps and bezels start at $30, and watches run from $175 to $1,350.

Pandora Sales up Nearly 93%

Everyone’s favorite jewelry company, Pandora, reported a 92.6 percent sales increase to 6.67 billion Danish krones ($1.26 billion) for 2010. Net profit rose 86.2 percent to 1.87 billion Danish krones ($355.6 million) for the year.

By region, the Danish company that specializes in affordable charms reported stunningly strong sales growth. Its business in the Americas, its strongest market with 43.7 percent of total sales, grew by 87 percent. Europe, its second largest market with 43 percent of total sales, had the strongest growth for the year at 137 percent. Sales in the Asia Pacific grew by 28.3 percent and constituted 13.4 percent of total sales

Revenue from charms grew by 82.5 percent for the year and silver and gold charm bracelets revenue grew 50.3 percent. This past year the company was trying to strengthen sales in its rings and other jewelry and it has shown some good results. Ring sales grew by 281.8 percent and other jewelry grew by 185.2 percent. Together these two product groups represented 18.7 percent of revenue in 2010—up from 11.6 percent in 2009.

Gross margin was 70.9 percent, slightly below the gross margin of 71.4 percent in 2009, primarily due to increase in commodity prices not being entirely offset by price increases, the company said.

“2010 was a remarkable year in Pandora’s history, and I am both proud and very satisfied with the achievements we have accomplished together with our partners,” said Mikkel Vendelin Olesen, Pandora’s CEO. “While entering new markets that will contribute to our long-term development, we experienced strong growth in our existing markets and across all product categories. We increased branded sales and strengthened the awareness and perception of the Pandora brand among our target audience. And we successfully integrated new businesses into the group as well as new systems and procedures to prepare our organization for future growth. At the same time we listed the company on the stock exchange without losing momentum in our daily operations.”

For 2011, Pandora said it expects a revenue increase of no less than 25 percent.

At the end of 2010, PANDORA employed 4,985 people worldwide and sold its jewelry and other branded products through 10,618 points of sale in more than 55 countries on six continents.

Pandora Raises 2 Billion in IPO

Danish jeweler Pandora charmed investors with an IPO worth up to $2.1 billion in one of Europe's largest market listings this year, Reuters and other media outlets report.

Pandora shares, priced at 210 Danish crowns in the initial public offering, closed up at 263, giving investors a 25 percent gain and valuing the company at about $6.1 billion, Reuters reports. More than 4 billion crowns ($739 million) of Pandora stock changed hands on the Copenhagen stock exchange—nearly double the normal daily turnover for the whole bourse. The company priced its IPO at the high end of a preliminary range of 175-225 crowns.

Analysts reportedly said Pandora's high growth and strong margins made the share offer attractive to investors hungry for new stock after a period of scant IPO activity, despite its short track record and heavy reliance on a single product.

Pandora's mass-market jewelry, sold mainly in the United States and Europe, is priced in an approximate $50-$1,500 range. The company makes customizable silver and gold charm bracelets, rings, necklaces and earrings at its three factories in Thailand, where it employs 3,300 people out of its total workforce of 4,500, and sells them in 45 countries.

Its big seller is charm bracelets, made of silver or gold, with the charms of stones such as amethyst, onyx or moonstone. It made 86 percent of first-half sales from bracelets and charms.

Pandora, founded in 1982 by husband-and-wife team Per and Winnie Enevoldsen as a Copenhagen shop, has grown rapidly over the past decade, with revenue of about $640.4 million in 2009. Axcel, the Danish private equity group, bought a 60 percent stake in the company from the Enevoldsen family two years ago.

Pandora made 41 percent of its first-half sales in the United States, the company reportedly said.