Pandora, who was ambition to return to the altar, was once again shrouded in dark clouds, but the brand chose to challenge it optimistically.
According to Fashion Business Express, in the three months to the end of March, Danish jewelry brand Pandora's revenue fell 41% year-on-year to 4.172 billion Danish kroner, or about 559 million euros, and its operating profit margin fell from 22.5% in the same period last year to 15.3%. , The net loss was 24 million DKK, and the net profit for the same period last year was 774 million DKK.
The group emphasized that the brand’s performance in January and February of this year was strong, with an organic growth of 1%, mainly driven by key markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Germany. % Of stores are in a closed state. As of the end of the reporting period, Pandora had approximately 2,746 stores worldwide.
The picture shows the main performance data of Pandora 2020 Q1, click on the picture to see more clearly
In an interview, CEO Alexander Lacik admitted that Pandora's performance this year is not optimistic compared with the same period last year. However, as the situation in Mainland China improves and consumer demand is picking up again, the group remains confident in the future.
He further revealed that although China's online business was interrupted due to logistics in January and February, the organic growth of e-commerce business during the reporting period still recorded a 29% increase, and the growth rate in April rose to triple digits. The brand's stores in Germany have reopened last month, and there has been a significant rebound in passenger flow, which may even be more pronounced than in the Chinese market.
As the investment in digital marketing continues to increase, the Pandora brand has accelerated its renewal since the second half of last year. The new visual identity has been implemented in all online channels. The new official website not only uses new logos and fonts, but also uses pink as its brand. The new main logo. Offline advertising campaigns also respond to brand innovation, using a fresher and modern tone. This digital reform has given Pandora a whole new look and has attracted the attention of more young consumers.
Pandora's official website uses pink as the main color to strengthen consumers' brand impression
In addition, Pandora doubled its marketing expenditures in Italy and the United Kingdom last year, which also had a positive impact on brand traffic and sales. In order to better integrate into the Asian market and optimize online marketing, Pandora has hired Singapore-based company KRDSSingapore as a social media partner for the third consecutive year to create a stable and lasting emotional connection with consumers.
Since March of this year, Pandora has officially promoted a strategic reorganization, centered on consumers, and established a team that further strengthens management in order to realize its ambitions for long-term development. As part of the plan, more than 100 markets where Pandora is located will be divided into 10 clusters for systematic management. But this also means that Pandora's required staff will be reduced, and about 180 jobs have been laid off.
At the same time, Pandora is constantly recruiting troops to try to inject fresh blood into the team. Martino Pessina, the former president of H&M's North American business, has been appointed as the chief commercial officer, responsible for the commercial operations and retail management of 10 clusters. He will also be responsible for a new function on network and franchise management, overseeing the development of the online retail industry worldwide. Newly joined is Jacques Roizen, who has extensive retail experience, who will serve as Pandora's China Business Director.
In order to better lay out the digital field, Pandora’s headquarters in Copenhagen is establishing a special team to convene software engineers, designers and analysts to improve Pandora’s digital experience and enhance the ability to acquire, analyze, and apply customer data. Achieve personalized customer experience well.
In terms of funding, Pandora has made two-handed preparations to deal with the epidemic. It is reported that Pandora prepared a conservative balance sheet to simulate the worst-case scenario, and said that even if offline stores cannot be reopened throughout 2020, it will have sufficient liquidity to maintain operations.
Pandora also received a pledged loan of 3 billion Danish kroner and will sell 8 million U.S. Treasury bonds under an accelerated cumulative bidding system. The relevant person in charge said that these measures are designed to ensure that Pandora can respond in a timely manner when market demand recovers. At present, the brand has increased the production of Thai suppliers to ensure that there is enough inventory to maintain normal sales for 25 weeks.
What needs to be vigilant is that Pandora still faces severe challenges in China. Before being affected by the epidemic, Pandora's share declined due to fierce market competition. The lack of a clear positioning when developing business is also one of the reasons why brands cannot retain Chinese consumers. Some analysts said bluntly. At the moment, it is more difficult than restoring online sales to restore store traffic, which will take Pandora for a long time.
According to a report from Yahoo Finance, Pandora announced its cooperation with Medallia, a world experience management company, last month. It will help Pandora obtain feedback from emerging online and mobile channels, and synchronize with customers’ changing shopping behaviors, thereby further optimizing consumers’ shopping experience.
Piral Dadhania, an analyst at the European Department of Royal Bank of Canada, said that Pandora's quarterly revenue performance exceeded expectations, especially the growth of online sales is very exciting. But he is worried that the sale of US Treasury bonds will reverse part of the stock repurchase, which may put pressure on the stock price.
Given that the epidemic is full of uncertainty, Pandora did not make a forecast for the new financial year's performance. Alexander Lacik pointed out, “In a sense, the key to success is to ensure that we don’t consume a lot of cash and hold onto our wallets. The question is how quickly we can recover the market.”
Obviously, in Pandora's strategic layout, the formulation and investment of long-term strategies are more critical than short-term interests.
As of Wednesday's close, Pandora's stock price rose 6.43% to 263.1 Danish kroner, with a market value of approximately 24.7 billion Danish kroner.
