Jewellery brand Pandora has launched its own online eStore, selling direct to consumers, in time for the Christmas shopping rush which is crucial to the business of many jewellery retailers.
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Pandora silver bracelet with green and blue murano glass beads. Jewellery photography copyright Tony May 2012.
The store will sell only at full recommended retail price and it will be interesting to see how it affects the business of Pandora retailers, who may not be welcoming the development. That includes not only jewellers who sell the Pandora range in their physical and online stores but the dedicated Pandora stores which are operated by independent franchisees.
The brand, which has seen phenomenal growth in the past three years, has been promoting itself heavily in the run-up to Christmas, with a TV advertisement and associated lifestyle photography. In the UK, the brand’s first celebrity tie-in has seen it partnering with Girls Aloud to sponsor next years tour by the reformed girl group and to promote the Girls Aloud Ten – ten bracelets designed by the five members of the band.
Pandora involved franchisees extensively in planning and launching the Girls Aloud collaboration to maximise the impact of the campaign, so it would be interesting to see how the same partners are viewing the new online eStore.