In sharp contrast to major growth in the US and Europe, Pandora’s revenue in Australia fell 11 percent from 2009 to 2010, according to the company’s 2010 annual report.
Released last week, the report said that although the company increased its revenue in the Asia Pacific region by 28.3 percent from 2009 to 2010 this was “primarily attributable to the acquisition of a controlling interest in the Australian distributor in July 2009 and a strengthening of the Australian dollar as well as strong growth in the rest of the Asian region”.
“On a comparable full year basis our Australian subsidiary experienced a decline in revenue in local currency of 11.2 percent.
“Pandora has throughout 2010 experienced challenging trading conditions in the Australian market with retailers destocking and being very cautious on ordering.
The annual report did not forecast any expected growth/changes in the local market in 2011 but did state that it expected its global revenue to increase by “no less than 25 percent”.
The company recorded an 87 percent increase in revenue in the Americas from 2009 to 2010 and a 136.9 percent increase in Europe in the corresponding period.
The company said the increase in the Americas “reflected strong organic growth as a result of high store sales growth (including upgrading) in the United States as well as the establishment of new points of sale in the United States and in other countries.
“The growth reflected, in part, increased demand for our products, price increases and a significant trend in the upgrading of stores to devote greater space for Pandora products as well as to offer additional Pandora collections.
“The United States continues to be the single largest market accounting for 37.8% of 2010 revenue, with a growth rate of 72.6 percent in 2010 compared to last year.”
“In regards to the European market, the company said the increased revenue was “predominantly related to strong organic growth in the United Kingdom and other European countries, especially Spain and Portugal.”
“The United Kingdom is now the largest single market in Europe accounting for 14.9 percent of 2010 global revenue, with a growth rate of 110.8 percent in 2010.”