By Helen Reid
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) – Jewellery brand Pandora said weak sentiment especially among mid- to lower-income consumers curbed sales in North America, which fell 2% in comparable terms, as new CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier grapples with weak consumer sentiment in the U.S. and Europe amid the Iran war.
Pandora has been under pressure from high U.S. import tariffs and a surge in silver prices squeezing margins at the Danish firm which sells silver charm bracelets priced from around $70 made at its factories in Thailand.
Overall, first-quarter sales fell to 7.109 billion crowns ($1.12 billion) from 7.347 billion crowns a year ago, but beating the 7.089 billion crowns analysts expected in a company-compiled poll, sending Pandora’s shares up 9% in early trading.
Comparable sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa also declined 2%, but strong growth in Latin America and Asia-Pacific helped offset the weaker core regions.
Operating profit was 1.487 billion crowns, beating analysts’ average forecast of 1.28 billion crowns, thanks in part to lower marketing spending.
De Pablos-Barbier, previously Pandora’s head of marketing, has promised to win new customers, bring in new designs and more efficient advertising. She has said 2026 will be a transition year, while the strategy would deliver higher comparable sales growth in 2027.
Pandora’s shares are down about 50% from a year ago, and in February Pandora said it would shift at least half of its silver jewellery to platinum-plated to cut its exposure to highly volatile silver prices.
As the brand grows its lab-grown diamond business, Pandora said it would start labelling its diamond products with their carbon footprint, which the company calculated with external auditors, highlighting their much lower carbon emissions impact compared to diamonds produced by mining.
Pandora sources its lab-grown diamonds from suppliers in the U.S. and India, which use renewable energy.
($1 = 6.3686 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Elaine Hardcastle)
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