FIFTEEN jobs have been created through the launch of a store selling Pandora jewellery in the North-East.

Pandora Sunderland, dedicated solely to retailing the charm bracelet, has been opened by Harry Collinson in the city through a £500,000 investment.

Eleven full-time jobs and four part-time jobs have been created with the launch of the purpose-built, two-storey store and offices in The Bridges shopping centre.

It builds on the legacy of watch and clock repairer JH Collinson, which opened a workshop in Sunderland’s Blandford Street in 1981, and has been opened to capitalise on the popularity of the Danish jewellery brand.

Mr Collinson, who runs the business with his wife, Sandra, son and daughter Harry and Rachel and daughter-inlaw Nichola, said: “My son and daughter like to research potential new product lines and discovered Pandora five years ago when a chance came to take up the sole rights for Sunderland and we went for it.

“We knew it was a good product, but had no idea how popular it was going to become.

Nothing like this has hit our trade in 30 years.

“We have launched our new store to concentrate on selling Pandora because it has absolutely transformed our business. We have been swamped by demand from customers, from schoolchildren to grandmothers, and can hardly keep up with its popularity.”

The business has been given backing by Yorkshire Bank’s Newcastle Financial Solutions Centre (FSC).

Paul Richardson, the Newcastle FSC business partner, said: “We support many trading enterprises and have cash to lend, so we are pleased to help Harry Collinson and his team take their business to the next level.

“It is always rewarding when you see a company strike on a product or service which transforms its fortunes, as has happened with JH Collinson and Pandora.”