By City A.M. Reporter
The boss of Scandinavian jeweller Pandora has said he is increasingly positive about the company’s outlook as it heads into the crucial Christmas period despite the shine coming off the wider luxury goods sector.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said that his company has benefited from its relative affordability: “When people have less money, you see a softening at the high end… we are still an accessible gift.”
The high street jeweller, most famous for its collectable ‘charms’, increased its sales forecast earlier this month from 2-5 per cent organic growth, to 5-6 per cent. The move came after Citi luxury goods analysts highlighted it as the only company they tracked “with growth accelerating quarter on quarter”.
After a decade of growth, which reached a frenzied pinnacle as the pandemic came to an end, the luxury goods market has tailed off in recent months.
LVMH’s third quarter update showed growth to have slowed from 17 per to 9 per cent. And Richemont, which owns Cartier, announced on Friday that it has suffered a similar slowdown despite increasing its market share.
The company’s chair, Johann Rupert, blamed higher rates for having a dampening effect on demand: “There has been a moderation in demand, which was to be expected, because that’s exactly what the central banks of the world intend”.
Lacik maintained the Pandora brand continued to have “strong momentum”, after the company invested heavily in endorsements from the likes of Pamela Anderson.
He added: “It’s not one silver bullet. All cylinders are firing.”
Ali Lyons
