Pandora launching e-commerce site in Q4

I wanted to circle back around to an item in Pandora’s rather lengthy 2011 Annual Report that caught my attention and certainly seems to be a piece of information that would interest retailers that carry the brand.

Pandora disclosed plans to launch an e-commerce site in an undisclosed test market in the fourth quarter, an item mentioned briefly in our story on the report.

While I wasn’t able to obtain many more specifics, Pandora spokesman Kasper Riis did tell National Jeweler that, “An action plan has been put in place to ensure that Pandora will deliver on its long-term strategy. One of the specific actions identified is to outsource an e-commerce site, which is being launched in a test market by Q4 this year. We have not yet disclosed in which market this is planned to take place.”

Now, I know this is not the first we’ve heard about this popular jewelry brand potentially selling online, but it certainly will be interesting to see how the site fares.

Riis said that Pandora did conduct an e-commerce pilot project in Germany and Poland for a limited amount of time, and the company will use what it learned from that experience when it launches its next e-commerce site later this year. Tuesday marked the first time publicly that the brand disclosed specifics on this fourth-quarter test market launch, he said.

I remember when I started here four years ago that the mention of brands even considering selling online rankled jewelers.

Now I think many retailers, though not exactly pleased, are no longer as shocked and angered by announcements such as this. They have come to expect it and have adjusted their business plans accordingly.

To jewelers that carry Pandora, and even those that don’t, what do you think of this latest announcement of a brand going direct to consumers online?