Anika Petersen started her journey with Pandora in March 2019 as the Store Manager in Kongens Lyngby, Denmark. After having much success in this role, she was promoted to our Flagship store in Amagertorv (Copenhagen, Denmark) in October 2019, which is the highest volume store in the Nordics. Most recently, Anika was promoted in February 2021 to a Visual Merchandising Operations Specialist on our global Visual Merchandising team in Copenhagen.
The interview was conducted by Bianca Kroll, Talent Acquisition Manager for Pandora Northern Europe.
Anika, congratulations on your new role! You have been promoted at Pandora three times within two years – this is quite an achievement to be proud of! Can you share a little bit about your journey to get here?
Before I joined Pandora in 2019, I had over 10 years of experience in retail. I fell in love with retail at a young age, because I was so passionate about positively influencing the customer journey and being able to create an experience that makes people smile. I have always been interested in Visual Merchandising from my experience working in store, but I didn’t anticipate moving into this new role, because it is not an easy transition moving from a Store Manager position to a global role at Headquarters.
But you did it! What do you attribute your success to? Do you now think that "anything is possible" when you think about your development and career at Pandora?
I love this! Yes, absolutely. You need to develop the right skills as a foundation, but if you are open-minded, curious, proactive and always willing to learn more, you will be seen! Honestly, I did not apply for the Visual Merchandising Operations Specialist role. I was approached by Christian Powis, our Sales Manager in the Nordics and by Danny Christoffersen, my Regional Sales Manager. At Pandora, you can achieve what you put your mind to and you can develop a career path that you are passionate about.
This sounds great! But now Christian has to hire a new Store Manager for our Flagship store, which is one of the most significant stores in the Nordics?
This is true, but this is also common at Pandora. If there is an opportunity to grow, your Manager will always support you. ‘Internal Development’ is one of our most important values, and as managers, we are always encouraging our team to develop themselves and their career at Pandora. We are all working together!
Will you miss working in a Pandora store?
I really love working in store, especially at Pandora. I have never experienced such passion before – it’s really unique! You really feel valued when the CEO and CCO are visiting your store, when you get the opportunity to see and to feel the newest products, and when you are able to influence the future of the store and retail processes. Believe me, working in a Pandora store is truly special, and I haven’t experienced anything like it before during my 10 years in retail, but now I am concentrating on my new role and I am sure this will be a very fun and rewarding adventure!