According to the statement, the company’s revenue is expected to increase by six per cent on a year-by-year comparison, reaching DKK32.5 billion ($AUD7.55 billion). This would fall short of the projected 7-8 per cent increase.
Revenue during the fourth quarter of the financial year improved by 4 per cent, with the statement noting declining demand in select European markets, contrasted with a strong performance in the Asia Pacific region.
Pandora recently announced the departure of its long-tenured CEO, Alexander Lacik. Incoming leader Berta de Pablos-Barbier said that the past year had underscored areas of improvement for the business.
“While the year was marked by macro headwinds, it has also highlighted opportunities to sharpen execution and strengthen brand desirability,” she said.
“As new CEO, my focus will be to navigate the current market environment, reduce our commodity exposure and course-correct in select areas to accelerate profitable growth. Pandora continues to pursue significant untapped growth opportunities as a full jewellery brand.
She added: “Our fundamentals are strong. We are building a bigger Pandora.”
Pandora is expected to publish a full financial statement in early February.
Turning to technology
In the lead-up to the holiday season, a report highlighted Pandora’s increasing reliance on programs using Artificial Intelligence (AI) during important sales periods.
According to the report, the company is using two AI programs: a chatbot that handles customer inquiries and a sales agent that replicates the in-store shopping experience online.
The service agent, Clara, launched in mid-February and now resolves most customer inquiries while providing operational insights that support forecasting. Gemma was introduced in Australia in June and is currently available to approximately 20 per cent of local website visitors.
Gemma uses chat-based artificial intelligence to provide personalised guidance, adapting recommendations through guided conversations based on customer input. Chief technology officer, David Walmsley, emphasised that the benefits of AI service agents are most apparent during peak trading periods.
“You don’t want to have to staff call centres for periods of peak sales volume,” Walmsley said.
“It’s easier to train an AI service agent than it is to train 600 new service agents. The efficiency we’re getting is really paying dividends during Black Friday and this whole peak period.”
According to the report, digital sales account for around one-quarter of Pandora’s total revenue.
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