Pandora Drops China Prices to Combat Grey Market

RAPAPORT... Pandora has lowered retail prices for most of the jewelry it offers in the Chinese market in an effort to combat revenue lossfrom illegitimate sales. The jeweler has reduced the cost of products byapproximately 15% across all its platforms in the region, including eSTOREand its listings on Alibaba Group's Tmall-ecommerce site, it said last week. By lowering prices, Pandorahopes to limit grey-market purchasing, as well as reduce the retail-pricedifference between mainland China and other markets. Revenue declined 9% in AsiaPacific for the first quarter of 2018, it said in May. In China, growth slowed from 62% in the fourth quarter of 2017 to 16% in the first three months of thisyear. Pandora attributed that relative weakness to an increase in grey-market trading, inwhich retailers sell a manufacturer's genuine products without authorization. "This price reduction across our jewelry assortment is oneelement in our strategic program to limit grey-market trading of our productsin China, and continue to enhance our customer experience in the world'slargest jewelry market," said Kenneth Madsen, Pandora's president for the Asia-Pacificregion. Pandora currently operates more than 170 concept storesthroughout China.