Pandora has cut 130 more Canadian retailers from its network, as well as 450 in the U.S. This selection includes all “white” and “silver” level retailers, excluding those who plan to upgrade to the “gold” or “shop in shop” status.
“For us, upgrading is not just a matter of putting the fixtures in the stores,” notes Laurie McDonald, Pandora USA’s general manager. “There also has to be marketing, there also has to be training of the staff, they have to have the product in the store. Those are the key elements to the customer experience.”
While McDonald adds that losing these retailers will not affect Pandora’s business, she fails to recognize the effects this will have on said retailers.
With Pandora’s merchandise representing about 35 per cent of some of these retailers’ overall selection, the affected stores are certainly going to feel a sharp blow. Now, they must renegotiate their entire inventory and find new product to fill the gaps left by Pandora’s exit.
Moreover, these retailers will lose business to Pandora stores in their areas, as loyal customers of the brand will have to go elsewhere to find product. These lost sales could mean serious revenue cuts for smaller stores.
“We are grateful to each and every one of these [cut] dealers,” adds McDonald. “All of them have played a part in Pandora’s growth. But we have to continue to grow and evolve, and we need to reinvent. If they are not willing to do that, it is no longer a good match. We are thankful to them and grateful for what they have done, but at some point it doesn’t work to getting us both to our objectives anymore.”
