Vietnam to be substantial market for international jewelry players: exec

Pandora, the world’s largest jewelry brand, broke ground on a new $150 million crafting facility in Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park 3 (VSIP 3) last Thursday in Binh Duong province. President and CEO of Pandora Alexander Lacik talked with The Investor and the press about the new factory after its groundbreaking ceremony.

Could you tell us why Pandora has decided to select Binh Duong province and Vietnam for this $150 million project?

The reason we have decided to put up our fourth factory in the world in Vietnam was based on extensive global research that covered 27 countries. We weighed up 13 different criteria and Vietnam rose to the top. Specifically, what was important for us was first of all access to a strong craft culture, which you have here in Vietnam.

Secondly, Vietnam has a very cooperative government that's also focused on sustainable development. The third criteria was access to good infrastructure. Vietnam is investing a lot in roads and access to sea and air freight.

The facility will follow the highest sustainable and green standards, technology, and practices. How will this contribute to the ongoing green transition in Vietnam? Could you share more details about these standards, technology, and practices?

As you know, we are very ambitious regarding our sustainability targets. In Thailand, we have also set this standard for all our factories. We are designing our factory at the highest standard in terms of energy conservation.

We will also use 100% renewable energy to drive our plants. First of all, we will use solar panels installed on our buildings, but we will also look for other sources of renewables in Vietnam as well. This is in addition to all the things that we're always looking for in terms of the design of our buildings and our processes being sustainable with minimal carbon emissions.

During your preparation for this project, what support have you received from the government of Vietnam and Binh Duong authorities? Is there anything you would like to recommend to them in terms of improving the investment environment to further support Pandora and other international investors?

Pandora is very grateful for all the support that we have received from the central government and Binh Duong. Binh Duong has been so supportive for our project, and we have been able to break ground on our new factory here in Vietnam. We just would like to sincerely thank Vietnam's government officials in general and Binh Dương in particular.

When will the new facility be operational? What is its capacity? How much of this capacity will be exported and how many will be sold in Vietnam market?

We expect the factory to be fully finished and start production in the first quarter of 2026. The capacity will be roughly 60 million pieces per year, which you can compare to the 130 million that we have capacity for in Thailand today. When fullly operational, it will employ up to 7,000 people. Most of the products that we produce are going to be exported.

What is your opinion about the demands and potential of the jewelry market in Vietnam, and the potential for selling Pandora’s jewelry here?

In Vietnam, like many other markets in this part of the world, we can see that middle income households are growing in numbers. Therefore, we can also see that jewelry demand is growing every year. In Vietnam for the last six or seven years, we have been growing at a double-digit rate. Thinking about this, five, 10, 15 years out, Vietnam is going to become quite a substantial market for global jewelry players.

Pandora’s new facility will use 100% renewable energy. Could you please tell us more about this plan? Will Pandora invest in solar energy or buy power from other suppliers?

Pandora's production plan in Vietnam is to use 100% renewable energy. Of course, the first source of this renewable energy will be the solar panels that we will install on the rooftops of all our plants. We will also work with VSIP to source more in terms of solar power. Last but not least, we will look into the other sources of renewable energy in Vietnam.

Can you elaborate on the similarities and differences between Pandora's Binh Duong facility and its factories in Thailand?

Let me explain the current setup. We have three factories in Thailand; two in Bangkok and one in the north of Thailand. Vietnam will be the fourth, so you may ask how we are going to split it up, let's say in terms of production. First of all, most of the plants will be able to produce all types of products from the start. When we choose what to produce at each plant, we look at their value prospects in order to optimize productivity, efficiency, and flexibility. This is how we manage Pandora's global supply network.

You plan to spend more than $10 million a year on recycled materials. Can you tell us where you will buy silver and gold from, and do you plan to use recycled sources in Vietnam?

Pandora has announced that we are sourcing 100% recycled silver and gold for all our products. This will be the case in Vietnam as well. We are sourcing from all the renowned refineries globally, and all this is traceable and at the highest standard in terms of recycled material, especially with silver and gold.