One in four brides wear David’s Bridal to their wedding. Now, it’s filing for bankruptcy

There has been a rebound in weddings the final two years after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic. But it hasn’t been sufficient for David’s Bridal, the most important bridal retailer within the United States. The firm stated Monday it filed for Chapter 11 chapter.

David’s Bridal has been damage by a spread of things, together with inflation and competitors from on-line retailers and secondhand retailers. A shift to extra informal weddings has additionally made David’s Bridal’s elaborate clothes and robes much less interesting to some brides.

“An increasing number of brides are opting for less traditional wedding attire, including thrift wedding dresses,” David’s Bridal stated in a chapter submitting. “These shifting consumer preferences have significantly exacerbated” the corporate’s monetary crunch.

David’s Bridal has additionally been damage by modifications in how ladies store for marriage ceremony clothes.

“The demand for formal wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and related accessories has decreased substantially in the current environment,” the corporate stated in its submitting.

Despite the bounce again in weddings in 2021 and 2022, they’re nonetheless under pre-pandemic ranges, in line with CDC information. And fewer individuals have been getting married over the long term: Marriage charges within the United States have been declining for the reason that early Nineteen Eighties, per the company.

David’s Bridal will hold its almost 300 shops and web site working and fulfill all buyer orders because it searches for a purchaser for the corporate. It will even honor reward playing cards, returns and exchanges. But if David’s Bridal just isn’t capable of finding a purchaser, it might have to shut all shops and liquidate.

The firm has round 10,000 full and part-time workers, however final week it stated it was shedding 9,000 staff.

David’s Bridal, the successor to a bridal retailing business that started as a single bridal salon in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1950, stated roughly 25% of brides within the United States put on one among its robes at their marriage ceremony.

This is the retailer’s second chapter in 5 years.

David’s Bridal stated it made progress since restructuring its business throughout its earlier chapter, however is “suffering under severe liquidity constraints.”

“Our business continues to be challenged by the post-Covid environment and uncertain economic conditions, leading us to take this step to identify a buyer who can continue to operate our business going forward,” stated David’s Bridal CEO James Marcum in a press release.

Bankruptcies are piling up within the retail sector as rates of interest go up and discretionary spending slows down.

Party City, Tuesday Morning, mattress producer Serta Simmons and Independent Pet Partners, a pet retailer retailer, have filed for chapter in latest weeks.

Bed Bath & Beyond can be on chapter watch and is closing a whole lot of shops.