Less than two months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, David’s Bridal shrank its debt load by approximately $450 million, emerging without closing any of its 300 stores.
The wedding apparel and accessory retailer has expanded its assortment of new styles and is making them available in a wider range of sizes (from 0 to 30) in stores to accommodate more customers. Additionally, the retailer announced it would provide lower prices on its best-selling dresses.
David’s Bridal also appears to be emphasizing its recently acquired online gifting company Blueprint Registry as a larger value proposition within its offering. The Registry is adding guides to determine what brides need by room along with cash and group gifting, and it will enable brides and other shoppers to add items from any web site to simplify the registry process.
Advertisement
When the restructuring was first announced, Scott Key, CEO of David’s Bridal, asserted in a video on the retailer’s site that the company’s restructuring “guarantees that customers won’t see any change in the service level they’ve come to expect.
In an update on the site, Key wrote, “Our refinancing is complete, and we kept each of the promises made to you last fall. Dresses were delivered on time, stores remained open, and as a company we remained focused on delivering service worthy of five stars.”
Key and the David’s Bridal team were insistent on maintaining consumer trust throughout the restructuring process. The company did not want to repeat the mistakes of bridal retailer Alfred Angelo, which closed up shop and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a move that left hundreds of brides without dresses even after paying for them.
After emerging from bankruptcy, David’s Bridal is now owned by its lenders, including Oaktree Capital Group.
