(Yicai) Aug. 20 -- Danish jewelry brand Pandora has doubled the number of Chinese stores it plans to shut down this year, as it is gradually losing its appeal in the local market.

Pandora is intensifying efforts to optimize its store network in China, now anticipating closures of up to 100 concept stores, up from at least 50 previously, the Copenhagen-based company said in its second-quarter financial statement on Aug. 15. It has closed 22 stores so far this year.

Pandora forayed into the Chinese market over a decade ago, attracting customers fascinated by the possibility of customizing their bracelets with charms of different styles and designs. In 2017, sales of its signature ‘bracelet + charm’ products accounted for over half of its total revenue.

After several consecutive years of decline, the contribution of the Chinese market to Pandora’s total revenue fell to just 1 percent last year from 9 percent in 2019.

When Pandora first entered the Chinese market, few brands offered clients the chance to customize their jewelry pieces, which made it very popular among youngsters very quickly, a marketing executive at a listed Chinese gold company told Yicai.

However, in the following years, many low-price imitations flooded the market, and the concept of ‘bracelet + charm’ became common, with many gold jewelry stores, such as Chow Sang Sang, Lukfook Jewellery, and Lao Miao, launching their own customizable gold charm bracelets, the executive noted.

Value retention is another factor affecting Pandora’s downfall. A few years ago, a gold charm bracelet cost more or less the same as a Pandora one made of copper-silver alloy and zirconia. But now, the gold one has proven to have retained much more value.

“The growing number of young consumers opting for gold jewelry has eroded the market share of brands selling jewels made of other metals,” the executive noted.

Moreover, China’s jewelry retail market is becoming increasingly complex. High-end jewelry brands are facing difficulties. The jewelry division of Swiss luxury goods giant Richemont Group saw its revenue from the Chinese market plunge 23 percent in the fiscal year 2025 ended March 31 from the year before, mainly because of weak sales of its Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels brands.

Editor: Futura Costaglione