A MAJOR wedding dress retailer is closing up shop, and at least seven stores in one state have been put on notice.
David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy in April and is just one of several brick-and-mortar stores that has struggled to stay afloat during the changing retail environment.
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As consumers turn to online shopping over in-person stores in the wake of the pandemic, retailers have faced difficulties in keeping up with their previous profits.
At the same time, high inflation has kept many shoppers from making big discretionary purchases.
These two factors alone are a hit to David’s Bridal and its once vibrant bridal fashion empire.
The store just released a WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) letter for the state of Tennessee, revealing seven of the chain’s iconic bridal stores will be shuttering for good.
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The closures are slated to take place between June 12 and August 11.
The U.S. Sun reached out to several stores and employees were not aware of any upcoming closures, but according to the WARN dated May 30, seven of the stores will be saying goodbye to shoppers this summer.
The U.S. Sun reached out to David's Bridal for further comment.
In the WARN letter from Tennessee's Department of Labor and Workforce Development, David’s Bridal also outlines that a total number of 206 employees will be impacted by the closings.
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The list of stores impacted in Tennessee are as follows:
- 1728 Galleria Boulevard, Franklin
- 2765 Wolf Creek Parkway, Memphis
- 7900 Kingston Pike, Knoxville
- 321 Gallatin Pike, North, Madison
- 1820 Gunbarrel Road, Chattanooga
- 3135 Peoples Street, Johnson City
- 2615 Medical Center Parkway, Murfreesboro
"David’s Bridal stores remain open, and we intend to fulfill orders without disruption or delay," Laura McKeever, David's Bridal senior manager of communications, told The U.S. Sun previously.
"Our customers should not expect to see any change in the unparalleled service level they have come to expect from our Dream Makers. We remain as committed as ever to delivering for our brides and customers and being part of magical moments."
Despite David’s Bridal’s relative success over the past 72 years, it struggled to adapt to the changing online retail landscape.
While Americans have still been getting married at high rates, with nearly 2.5million weddings held last year alone, brides and grooms have different mindsets going into their wedding planning.
High inflation has encouraged Americans to cut back on their spending, from groceries to high ticket discretionary items like wedding attire.
Executives at the fashion retailer said they would be laying off more than 9,000 employees in April.
A spokesperson for David's Bridal previously told The U.S. Sun previously the company aims "to preserve as many David’s jobs as possible."
They added: "Of course, no outcome is certain, but we want to assure the market and our employees that we are working as hard as we can to find a buyer to bring the iconic David’s brand into the future."
The chain is looking for a buyer as it deals with $257million in debt.
"We have successfully modernized our marketing and customer interaction processes and driven our retail service levels to best in class," the company’s chief executive officer James Marcum said in a statement at the time of its announced bankruptcy.
"Nonetheless, 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."
Previously, the retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2018 when it had a total of $400million in debt.
The chain was able to exit bankruptcy in January of the following year, but it’s unclear what David’s Bridal’s future looks like moving forward.
A GROWING TREND
Retail economists have predicted more than 50,000 stores will meet their end by 2028 due to the changing retail dynamics.
In addition to David’s Bridal, Bed Bath & Beyond, Party City, and Tuesday Morning have all filed for bankruptcy as well.
Even top retailers like Walmart and Target have announced store closures as they face unsatisfactory sales performance and high retail theft.
Additionally, shoe store chains Shoe City and Foot Locker have announced upcoming closures to occur by the end of the year as well.
Shoe City is completely shutting down while Foot Locker is saying goodbye to shoppers at a whopping 400 locations.
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A top makeup retailer is also abruptly closing down one of its popular stores.
Restaurants are being impacted as well – an iconic restaurant with 165 locations is also shutting down locations within just weeks.
