Pandora entered China in 2015 and expanded rapidly: China sales surged 175% in 2016, the brand added 58 stores in 2017, and by 2019 it had over 240 stores generating DKK 1.97 billion (about RMB 2.13 billion) — 9% of global revenue, with same-store sales growing over 20% a year. Then the decline began: China sales fell 36% in 2020, 13% in 2021, 47% in 2022 and 9% in 2023.
By 2024, China revenue was DKK 416 million — down nearly 80% from the 2019 peak. In Beijing, the WF Central flagship was quietly replaced by Cartier; the Sanlitun Taikoo Li store was taken over by fashion brand GANNI in February 2023. Standalone stores were downgraded to atrium counters, then withdrawn entirely. On 15 August 2025, Pandora doubled its 2025 China closure plan from 50 stores to 100 — a closure rate of about 50%, leaving fewer than 100 stores by year-end.
The decline tracked a shift in Chinese consumer preferences toward value retention. Pandora's core materials — 925 sterling silver, 18K gold plating and synthetic gemstones — lost appeal as younger buyers turned to gold and local brands like Laopu Gold. On secondhand platforms, Pandora beads that retailed for RMB 400-500 resold for RMB 10-30. Consumers complained of oxidisation, fading plating, cracking zirconia and peeling enamel.
Pandora closed 100 stores in 2025, halving its network, after China revenue fell 80% from DKK 1.97 billion to DKK 416 million by 2024.
Pandora's product was fashion jewelry priced as accessible luxury, but Chinese consumers increasingly judge jewelry by value retention — sterling silver and synthetic stones do not hold value
The 2015-2019 expansion was built on the charm-bracelet trend, which saturated; the brand did not develop a second growth product for the Chinese market
Local competitors like Laopu Gold offered gold products at similar price points with genuine resale value, making Pandora's materials look like a poor investment
The store network was built for the peak — 240+ stores for a DKK 1.97 billion market — and could not be sustained at DKK 416 million
A jewelry brand that cannot answer 'what is this worth when you resell it?' is selling decoration, not jewelry — and in a market that buys jewelry as store of value, decoration is the first thing cut.
Pandora's Q1 2025 China sales fell 11% year on year to DKK 96 million. The brand expected to close about 78 more stores in the second half of 2025. Staff at closed stores received severance but were not reassigned. The case was cited in Chinese business media alongside other foreign jewelry and fashion brands retreating from the Chinese market.
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