Pandora, the Danish jewellery giant, has opened a new manufacturing plant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, worth 150 million dollars, or about 4.8 billion baht. It is the company's first production base outside Thailand, which has long been its main manufacturing hub. The plant is expected to increase the company's overall production capacity by about 50%. It can produce up to 60 million pieces of jewellery a year and will employ around 7,000 people once fully operational. Berta de Pablos-Barbier, president and chief executive of Pandora, told CNBC that Asia remains a region with very strong potential, after sales in the region grew 10% in the second quarter. Its business in Japan has nearly doubled in size in just three years and is still growing at a high double-digit rate. The Chinese market, where sales had fallen for three consecutive years, is starting to show signs of recovery, and the company expects to return to growth there this year. Pandora is also pressing ahead with expanding its lab-grown diamond business, after finding that consumers are interested in alternative diamonds that are more affordable than mined diamonds. Lab-grown diamond production can cut carbon emissions by about 90% compared with mined diamonds, and the new factory in Vietnam also uses renewable energy, as well as recycled silver and gold, in line with the company's sustainability approach.
Pandora A/SPandora opens a $150M Vietnam factory, its first production base outside Thailand, boosting overall production capacity by about 50%.
