Pandora was founded in 1982 in Copenhagen, Denmark and the company stock trades publicly on the Copenhagen stock exchange. Last year, Pandora sold nearly $1.5 billion worth of charms and bracelets–as well as rings, earrings and necklaces. Pandora has more than 11,000 employees. Almost 8,000 of them work in Thailand in a city specifically created to service the international jewelry industry–it’s actually called Gemopolis. Gemopolis is so big, it has 5 hospitals, 7 universities and 20 major banks.
Pandora counts itself as one of the “world’s largest jewelry brands.” The Pandora brand can be purchased in more than 80 countries on six continents. In 2011, Pandora averaged more 1,500 sales a day, every day, meaning a piece of Pandora jewelry was sold some place on earth every second of the year. If you want to start your own Pandora franchise, Pandora estimates that it will usually “take a little over two months” from preparation phase to opening day. Stephen Fairchild is Pandora’s new chief creative officer. Fairchild says “The Pandora brand belongs to women. I envision myself as the gardner.”
