Pandora, the world’s largest jewellery brand by revenue, is investing US$100 million in a new crafting facility in Vietnam, a move aimed at supporting its long-term growth and making it more resilient to potential supply disruptions.

The facility, the Danish firm’s third manufacturing site and the first outside Thailand, will be located in the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) 3 in Binh Duong province, about 40 kilometres north of Ho Chi Minh City. The zone is also where Danish toymaker Lego Group is building a smart facility with more than US$1 billion in investment.

The plant will be built according to the LEED Gold standard, a leading green building certification, and powered 100% by renewable energy. It is expected to create jobs for more than 6,000 craftsmen and have an annual capacity of 60 million pieces of jewellery. Construction is set to begin in early 2023 with production due to start by the end of 2024.

On May 12 the Copenhagen-headquartered firm signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the facility in the province.

Jeerasage Puranasamriddhi, Pandora’s chief supply officer, comments: “We scouted countries all over the world before deciding on Vietnam and Binh Duong province. Vietnam has a rich craftmanship history, and we will be able to access a large group of craftspeople.”

“Binh Duong and VSIP provide great infrastructure, and we are very grateful for the support we have received from the local authorities and VSIP team. Expanding our production capacity is critical to meet expected demand, and we are ready and excited for our new chapter in Vietnam,” he adds.

“The provincial government is committed to creating the best conditions for Pandora Group throughout the process of developing, building and operating the new facilities in our province,” says Vo Van Minh, the provincial administration’s chairman.

Denmark’s Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Højlund Christensen notes: “Vietnam has become an attractive destination for Danish companies, not least due to its green transformation of the economy, and we are happy to see Pandora making this important investment decision in the country. We hope that the establishment of Pandora’s first crafting facility here will contribute to further expanding and intensifying our close cooperation with Vietnam.”

Aside from the new plant in Vietnam, Pandora will also expand its current site in Lamphun, Thailand, bringing the total investment there to US$160 million over the next four years. This would allow the Danish firm to grow its total crafting capacity by around 60% and support its long-term growth ambitions.

In 2021, Pandora sold 102 million pieces of jewellery, hand-finished at its two crafting facilities in Thailand, according to the company. Both facilities operate on 100% renewable energy and are on track to use only recycled silver and gold by 2025.

Pandora is listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange, and generated sales of 3.1 billion euros (US$3.22 billion) in 2021.