David Boynton on agility, multi-channel ecosystems, and navigating shifting tides

To explore how one of the world's most prominent jewellery brands is tackling these shifting dynamics, Anita Balchandani, Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company, sat down with David Boynton, Managing Director of Northern Europe for Pandora. David shares insights on managing soaring silver commodity prices, capturing the elusive attention of Gen-Z while maintaining a multi-generational appeal, and why the future of retail belongs to brands that can seamlessly integrate an ecosystem of owned stores, digital marketplaces, and wholesale partnerships.

Anita Balchandani: While the broader fashion landscape is experiencing a low-growth period, jewellery stands out as still ‘sparkling’. What is driving this growth, and what challenges are emerging behind the scenes?

David Boynton: Jewellery is a fascinating, yet highly complex category right now because surging commodity pricing has completely shifted our economic engine. While Pandora doesn't really sell much gold, we sell an enormous volume of silver, which has been tracking gold's upward trajectory. We went from typical baseline expectations of around $18 an ounce to peaking at over $100, and sitting somewhere between $60 and $80 an ounce today.

Even though we are the big beasts of the sector, every player is feeling this pressure. It looks beautifully sparkly from the shop windows, but behind the scenes, it's a bit like a swan: there are a lot of paddles moving incredibly fast under the water as the industry figures out how to handle this new level of commodity pricing.

We have a very clear plan at Pandora, which we're excited about. We announced it to the markets recently. We are moving, we need a white metal that isn't silver, and we're moving towards platinum plated.

So we think it's a fantastic product. It's waterproof, it doesn't tarnish unlike silver. So lots of advantages for us. And I think it's a great example of how Pandora is fleet of foot and agile. And despite its size, getting off of $4 billion sales around the world, despite that scale, we can still move very quickly when we need to.

Anita Balchandani: Given Pandora's extensive history, how do you successfully appeal to a broad spectrum of consumers across both traditional and fast-moving social platforms?

David Boynton: It is an incredibly interesting time to be in marketing, moving from basic outdoor advertising and early CRM to the massive impact of social media. We have seen enormous, organic sales peaks driven by Gen-Z engaging with our brand through user-generated TikTok content. It’s an explosion in traffic and awareness that we didn't directly create or control, which is a fascinating challenge when you've been in retail as long as I have.

What makes Pandora truly exciting is that its relevance genuinely spans from "eight to eighty". While millennials remain our core market, our brand creates experiences that bridge generations. 

Anita Balchandani: Physical stores anchor that human connection, yet your online e-commerce share is exceptionally high, sitting between 25% and 40%. How are you approaching channel synergy and the expansion into marketplaces?

David Boynton: We are highly mature across European markets like the UK, Germany, and Italy, meaning our physical concept store footprint is well-penetrated. Because we have mastered digital commerce effectively, the next frontier is opening up to marketplaces and a more diverse ecosystem.

Pandora actually started as a manufacturing and wholesale business before transitioning to take control of our own retail distribution. However, we recognise there are many towns where we will never open an owned concept store, but where a high-quality, multi-brand jeweller already operates successfully. By partnering with the right multi-brand players, we can expand our reach. We see the future as a highly integrated ecosystem that seamlessly combines owned stores, owned e-commerce, marketplaces, online wholesale, and offline multi-brand retail.

Anita Balchandani: AI and agentic commerce are major talking points across retail right now. Where do you see the most immediate promise for AI in your category, especially alongside current macroeconomic pressures?

David Boynton: We look at AI through two distinct lenses: efficiency and effectiveness. We have already successfully implemented AI to capture back-of-house efficiencies in supply chain logistics and recruitment. When it comes to front-of-house customer experiences, we are still just dipping our toes in the water. Personally, I am a firm believer in the power of human connection in retail. However, data shows that consumers are increasingly using AI for product discovery and decision-making, with shopping emerging as one of the highest use cases.  I think we have to understand it better. I think we have to invest. I think we have to experiment, try things, but there's something here that I think really could revolutionise shopping. We haven't quite figured out what it is.

Anita Balchandani: Let's step back and think about the economic outlook and the landscape around consumer confidence. Where do you stand on value and the importance of value and affordability at a time that you're also facing a lot of inflation, particularly in materials?

David Boynton: Operational precision is vital. Inflation in materials is high, and retail foot traffic across the industry is under severe pressure, with many retailers seeing traffic dips around -5%.

We have to accept that consumers are anxious about the future. There is a strict limit on how far we can stretch our pricing; our product must remain accessible and offer great value for the quality provided. Because the economic "high tide" of recent years has receded, retailers must get much sharper at running tight operations, managing rising wages, and doubling down on conversion metrics within the existing store footprint.

Anita Balchandani: Beyond driving conversion, what advice would you give to brands and retailers looking to unlock new pockets of growth worldwide?

David Boynton: My primary advice is to break free from rigid channel thinking. It is remarkably easy for a brand to get stuck solely focusing on its own proprietary channels. True resilience in a tough market requires an open-minded approach to diverse distribution models, whether that means integrating with online marketplaces, exploring online wholesale, or entering entirely new geographic territories. We’ve leaned into this approach and are already reaping substantial rewards, particularly within our US market. Maintain your core operational disciplines, but keep your channel strategy radically open.