The company wants to “increase control of our brand.”
Pandora announced that it is acquiring Gielen Trading’s Pandora store network in Belgium and Luxembourg.
The transaction is set to take place on June 30, 2017, the day that Gielen Trading’s distribution rights to Pandora jewelry in the two countries expire.
Pandora will pay a total amount of 14 million euros (US $14.61 million) to Gielen Trading related to the agreement, of which around 2 million euros (US $2.09 million) is related to inventory. In 2015, the acquired Pandora stores and the existing wholesale network in Belgium and Luxembourg generated revenue of about 21 million euros (US $21.92 million).
With the agreement, the company will add to its retail chain 13 Pandora-owned concept stores and three shop-in-shops located in the two countries. In total, Pandora jewelry is currently available in 25 concept stores, 29 shop-in-shops and around 100 multibranded stores in Belgium and Luxembourg.
David Allen, president of Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Pandora, said in a press release: “Gaining control of the distribution of Pandora jewellery in already established markets is an integrated part of our strategy to increase control of our brand. Gielen Trading has done a tremendous job in building the Pandora brand as well as a sustainable branded network in Belgium and Luxembourg, and we will now continue the journey to establish Pandora as the most loved jewellery brand in these countries.”
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
