Pandora is in talks to acquire more of its U.S. concept stores, which have traditionally been run by franchisees.
Earlier this year, the charm brand acquired 18 concept stores previously run by Laws Management and then four stores from another franchisee. Negotiations are now taking place with other entities looking to give up their franchises, Laurie McDonald, general manager for Pandora U.S., told JCK in an interview at the company’s booth at the JCK Las Vegas show.
But she stresses that the acquisitions are all voluntary.
“The ones that we have purchased back are franchisees that have decided, for whatever reason, they no longer want to continue in the business,” she said. “We think it’s really important to maintain our footprint of stores, and so we have taken that opportunity as they want to exit, to buy back those stores from them.
“We are not actively out trying to get [franchisees] to sell to us,” she added. “But we take the opportunity when they decide to exit.”
Asked whether it would ever opt for involuntary takeovers, McDonald says, “Not at this time. It is not our current strategy…The [franchisees] that want to continue to be in the business, we want to continue to support them.”
The company currently controls just over 60 of the nearly 300 Pandora concept stores in the United States.
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