Could America’s biggest chain of bridal stores David’s Bridal be filing for bankruptcy?
On October 15th, the US branch of David’s Bridal missed a $270 million loan payment and numerous trade publications are reporting that the bridal giant will either be filing for bankruptcy or restructuring its debts. As the UK branch is run separately, it’s not apparent that this will affect UK operations.
This isn’t the first time rumours of David’s Bridal going bankrupt have stirred. Experts predicted David’s Bridal had financial issues last year.
Mathew Christy, an S&P Global Ratings Analyst, told USA Today that there’s a “very high likelihood” that David’s Bridal will either file for bankruptcy or a consensual restructuring. David’s Bridal have been given a 30 day grace period, however, S&P suggest that it’s "highly likely" that this payment won’t be met.
Insider have also covered the story in the US, as did BizJournals and Retail Dive.
The US’s leading wedding retailer has been facing issues in recent years with a growth in digital competition meaning more brides are buying online, as well as declining marriage rates.
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David’s Bridal are a big player in the US bridal market, selling about one in three wedding dresses through its 300 stores and vast website and conjuring up $791 million revenue p/a. Despite this, Christy explains that the company is “unsustainable”.
Rating agency Moody’s offer similar evidence, as they ranked David’s Bridal among their top retailers in 2018 who could file for bankruptcy protection due to defaulting on their debts.
Bankruptcy protection and the resultant closure of some of the company’s shops could result in positive prospects for the still lucrative business.
We’ll keep you updated as this story develops. Find out what happened when we went undercover to a David’s Bridal store.