Press release - 10 March 2008
Axcel acquires stake in jewelry company Pandora Axcel has acquired a 60% stake in Pandora, a family- and employee-owned Danish jewelry manufacturer with annual revenues of about DKK 1,1 bn. The goal is to strengthen and expand the company’s international position and implement a long term succession. Axcel has agreed with the owners of jewelry company Pandora to buy 60% of the shares in the company. Previously, ownership in the company was held by the two founders, Per and Winnie Enevoldsen, their son Christian and a number of senior staff. The current owners will co-invest along with Axcel and own 40% of the new company. Pandora’s core product is bracelets with charms in precious metals and gemstones which are available in numerous combinations. New charms are designed regularly, enabling customers to put together their own personal and unique pieces of jewelry. The bracelets were launched in 2000 and became the booster for Pandora’s huge success, enabling the company to double its revenue each year since. Denmark’s best kept secret The company designs and develops its products in Denmark and manufactures them in Thailand, where about 1000 specially trained employees finish the products by hand. The Pandora jewelry collection, which in addition to bracelets comprises necklaces, earrings, finger rings and other items, is sold direct from the company or through distributors to some 7000 jewelry and gift shops in 20 countries. Pandora has won several Gazelle company awards and was named the 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year in Denmark for its impressive results and unique business concept. “Pandora is Denmark’s best kept secret,” says Christian Frigast, Managing Partner of Axcel, who continues: “The Pandora team has had remarkable success in exploiting market opportunities over the past seven years. The result is a financially very successful business in terms of both earnings and growth, and the company generates more than 90% of its revenue outside Denmark. The combination of a strong brand, exclusive quality, a high degree of hand-crafting and an extremely efficient supply chain makes the Pandora business concept unique, and we look forward to working together with the family and the management to further develop the business.” International expansion and larger production facilities Pandora’s development plans include international expansion and growing the company’s presence in current markets as well as expanding production in Thailand. In the USA and Canada, sales will be managed by wholly owned subsidiaries, which will bring consolidated sales to roughly DKK 1,1 bn. “Pandora has grown to a size where we need to bring new owners and new skills on board. This also applies to the management level, because we need more professional resources if we are to further develop and exploit our company’s full potential. That is why we have decided to join forces with Axcel. We believe that they can provide the kind of management resources, industry know-how and retail experience we need,” says Per Enevoldsen, CEO, co-founder and part owner of Pandora. Per Enevoldsen intends to concentrate on developing Pandora’s operations in Thailand, which is why the company has initiated a search for a new CEO who can lead the efforts to implement Pandora’s plans for a global presence. New logo and branding strategy The change in ownership coincides with Pandora introducing a new logo, a modernised version of its trademark. At the same time, the company will be launching a new advertising campaign that will form part of its new branding strategy, which is labelled “Unforgettable Moments”. The new branding strategy is intended to create a single communications platform across all markets in order to strengthen the company’s global business brand.