Pandora’s Aurélie Alexandre: ‘The initiatives under way in Spain and Portugal serve as a benchmark for other markets”

At the end of last August, the Danish jewellery giant Pandora appointed Aurélie Alexandre as its new director for Spain and Portugal. From the company’s Madrid headquarters, she succeeded Alizée Huitorel, who at the beginning of the year became the company’s general manager for Western Europe. A couple of months after taking the helm of the Iberian division, FashionNetwork.com speaks with the executive about her challenges at Pandora, future plans and the role of the Spanish and Portuguese markets within the company.

FashionNetwork.com: How are your first months in the role going?

Aurélie Alexandre: I’m getting to know the region, the market, the teams and the stores, and travelling a lot. I already knew these two countries because I worked as marketing director for Western Europe, including France, but right now I’m focused on Portugal and Spain.

FNW: What are your main challenges in this new role?

A. A.: On the one hand, we face the same macroeconomic challenges as the rest of the sector. For example, in jewellery, the price of silver is something that affects us. Beyond that, in the Portuguese and Spanish markets, I’d say the main challenge is to strengthen our position as a brand. Pandora has a very strong brand position in Spain and Portugal and is very well known, but our task is to remain a relevant and inspiring brand in these markets. We need to strengthen the brand beyond ‘charms’ and our bracelets, which distinguished Pandora and put it on the map. Now, without losing our essence, we have to go further.

FNW: What is your strategy for achieving that goal?

A. A.: It rests on several pillars. We will back different product categories within the jewellery segment; and, in terms of customer connection, we’ll aim to be less product-centric, putting greater emphasis on emotions, on our connection with customers, on building bonds. At the end of October, we will unveil a campaign along these lines, focusing on that emotional connection with the brand.

FNW: A global campaign or a local one for the Iberian market?

A. A.: It’s a global campaign that will launch in these two markets.

FNW: What are the other pillars of the strategy?

A. A.: Retail is a key piece. We have a very solid, established network in both Spain and Portugal, so we’re no longer in a phase of growing the network for its own sake. It’s about continuing to open where it makes sense. In fact, rather than increasing the number of stores [Pandora has over 90 in Spain and around 40 in Portugal], our strategy is focused on relocations. We have stores in very good locations, but many of them are small. We obviously can’t push out the walls to make them bigger, so our challenge is to find new sites. This is something to develop in the medium term, as finding the right spaces doesn’t happen quickly.

In parallel, we’re rolling out our new Evoke store concept, launched a year and a half ago. Some stores already have it in place, but one of our objectives is to invest in expanding it and bringing it to more locations.

FNW: And beyond physical stores?

A. A.: Another pillar of our strategy is the digital environment. We recently launched a new e-commerce site. And we continue to champion omnichannel: the click-and-collect format works very well, and we’re also enabling customers to buy online from our physical stores those products they want that aren’t available in-store at that moment. And we have a partnership with El Corte Inglés to operate on its marketplace.

FNW: What is your relationship with El Corte Inglés?

A. A.: It’s a key partner. In addition to the digital channel, we are present in 70 shop-in-shops in its department stores in Spain and two in Portugal, and it is an essential part of our distribution. In the multi-brand channel we operate in 220 locations in Spain and 130 in Portugal.

FNW: What do the Spanish and Portuguese markets represent for Pandora?

A. A.: They are two of the fastest-growing markets, if not the fastest. Pandora has a unique brand positioning in these two countries, and some of the initiatives developed here are a benchmark for other markets. One example is the influencer marketing strategy followed in Spain and Portugal: a community has been created that is highly connected with Gen Z, where most of the content produced is organic, not paid. The influencers are part of the Pandora family; that’s how they feel and that’s how it comes across to customers. Moreover, the paid media model used in the Iberian market is also successful and a template to follow.

FNW: In recent times, you’ve reached a new generation of consumers through social profiles. But what about the more traditional customer, the one who first connected with the brand through its ‘charms’?

A. A.: Of course, we remain connected with our long-standing customers, paying attention to them and engaging with them. ‘Charms’ are our core and they’re not going anywhere; in fact, we constantly launch new collections, such as ‘Talisman’, which was released recently.