Charm manufacturer Pandora has plans to launch an e-commerce channel in the United States.

The company already runs direct-to-consumer eStores in seven European countries. So far, though, it hasn’t tried to create a direct-to-consumer e-commerce site in the United States, its largest market. According to a recent employment ad, it’s hunting for someone to oversee an e-commerce channel.

“It is no secret that Pandora will, eventually, have a global e-commerce platform, including in the U.S.,” Scott Burger, president of the Pandora Americas, tells JCK. “We are in various stages of such projects around the world and are currently building our human resource expertise as a group/company/brand. Consequently, specific job ads should not necessarily be interpreted as indicators of near-term e-commerce launches in individual markets.”

He declined further comment, but a more specific announcement will likely come next week.

Given that Jared currently sells Pandora pieces online, it makes sense for Pandora to launch an e-commerce channel in the United States. The question is: How will Pandora do it? Many jewelry brands—including Ritani, Hearts On Fire, Kameleon, and most recently Forevermark—have embraced a clicks-and-bricks e-commerce strategy that involves the jeweler in the sale, both financially and from a service point of view. In the past, Pandora executives have indicated that if it did sell online in the United States, it would try a similar model. That mechanism could be tougher for a brand with more than 300 concept stores and a berth at Jared.

Rob Bates

JCK News Director