Danish jewellery maker Pandora to open 50 shops in India

The Dollar Business Bureau

Denmark’s jewellery manufacturer Pandora said on Friday that it would enter the Indian market and open 50 stores in the coming three years as it is pursuing an ambitious expansion target.

The Indian market, one of the largest jewellery markets in the world, is worth over $40 billion a year and is likely to grow at a rate of 7% a year through 2021, the company said in its press release.

However, the Indian market has traditionally been more focused on diamonds and gold than silver, the favourite material of Pandora, which makes up only 5% of the market, it added.

A change in consumers’ behaviour particularly amongst the young Indians towards international brands could however, drive success towards Pandora's decision, according to analysts.

“Jewellery as a fashion statement is increasingly popular among consumers and with India already being one of the largest jewellery markets in the world, the country holds a great potential for Pandora,” said Anders Colding Friis, Chief Executive, Pandora in an announcement to the stock exchange.

Last year, Pandora had said that it anticipated opening around 200-300 new shops every year in 2016 till 2018, but since then it has raised the number to about 325 shops in 2016, in which half of them are in Europe and a quarter in Asia and Americas.

By the end of September 2016, Danish jewellery maker had 2,010 stores across the world, increased from 1,666 in the corresponding period a year before.

Pandora has appointed Pan India, a domestic distributor. However, analysts believe distribution would start in a few years once the company gained adequate knowledge about the Indian market, an approach it has successfully used in other markets.