AI News Feed
Market watch
Pandora Opens $150 Million Vietnam Plant, Expands Bet on Asia and Lab-Grown DiamondsServiceNow CoreAI Introduces AutoSynthData for Enterprise Agent TrainingChatGPT Adds Virtual Clothing Try-On, Borrowing a Google Shopping StapleKB Kookmin Bank Data Breach Follows Shinhan Leak, Raising AI Attack ConcernsTechRadar Lists Seven Prime Day Bluetooth Speaker Deals for Australian Outdoor PartiesMicrosoft adds streaming transcription and voice models to MAI family
Pandora Opens $150 Million Vietnam Plant, Expands Bet on Asia and Lab-Grown DiamondsServiceNow CoreAI Introduces AutoSynthData for Enterprise Agent TrainingChatGPT Adds Virtual Clothing Try-On, Borrowing a Google Shopping StapleKB Kookmin Bank Data Breach Follows Shinhan Leak, Raising AI Attack ConcernsTechRadar Lists Seven Prime Day Bluetooth Speaker Deals for Australian Outdoor PartiesMicrosoft adds streaming transcription and voice models to MAI family
Companies

Pandora Opens $150 Million Vietnam Plant, Expands Bet on Asia and Lab-Grown Diamonds

Pandora opens a $150 million Vietnam plant, its first outside Thailand, to expand Asian growth and lab-grown diamond sales.

AI News Feed · 2026-10-02 14:44

The facility can produce up to 60 million pieces of jewelry annually and will employ about 7,000 people when fully operational, according to CNBC. Pandora President and CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that the company is "clearly building the capacity today for the growth of tomorrow that we expect." She described Asia as a "very positive region" for Pandora after the company grew 10% in the region in the second quarter.

Pandora also sees growth opportunities in Japan, where its business has "pretty much doubled" in size over the past three years and continues to grow at "very high double digits," Pablos-Barbier told CNBC. China presents a different picture, with Pandora having recorded three years of declines. The company expects to return to growth there this year. "For the first time, we're starting to see growth coming back, and we are actually delivering better growth than we had in the previous year," she said, adding that she remains positive about the company's ability to continue growing in China.

Pandora is also leaning further into lab-grown diamonds, as the jeweler sees growing consumer appetite for the more affordable alternative to mined stones. Pablos-Barbier told CNBC that consumers are making choices based on several criteria, with sustainability first. She cited affordability and sustainability as factors driving consumers toward lab-grown diamonds. The stones cost less than mined diamonds, allowing Pandora to offer diamond jewelry at more accessible prices, while producing around 90% fewer carbon emissions, according to Pablos-Barbier.

She said younger consumers tend to be more environmentally conscious, though preferences can vary by geography. Pablos-Barbier described the company's move into lab-grown diamonds as an "obvious" choice, pointing to Pandora's use of recycled silver and gold as well as renewable energy at its new Vietnam facility.