RESILIENT

RESILIENT AND RESOURCEFUL

Just as retailers talked us through the ups and downs of this very, very hard year, the second lockdown was announced. We went back for further comment and came away feeling so very proud to be part of this industry that will not be beaten

Claire and Mel WEDDING BELLES of FOUR OAKS Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

What trade events do you normally attend?

We would normally attend Harrogate every year, it’s our favourite weekend of the year and we usually take our whole team and rent a house. It’s a great weekend to bond and of course their input into buying our new dresses is important to us. We also attend the London show each March.

Have you bought for 2021 and how – from a virtual showroom; on a oneto-one zoom meet with the supplier;

in your shop with a pre-arranged rep visit; at a ‘pop up show’ eg Milton Keynes?

We have bought new dresses from all of our labels; we feel now more than ever we need to stay engaged with our future brides and offer them the latest in bridal design and fashion. We have done our buying in a mix of ways from virtual online with Essense of Australia to showroom buying with Allure and Maggie Sottero.

What labels do you carry?

Essense of Australia, Martina Liana, Rebecca Ingram, Maggie Sottero, Sottero and Midgley, Allure Bridals.

Did you look at any labels that were new to you?

No

Are you communicating your purchases to potential brides and how?

Yes we are absolutely shouting from the rooftops via our social media platforms that we have new collections arriving in all the time. We purchased a small selection at the start of the first lockdown and just prior so when we reopened in June we were able to showcase these new dresses to our full advantage.

Are your brides cutting down on their spend?

For us, it’s the opposite really… brides seem happy to spend more. Maybe this is because they spent less money during lockdown and now have bigger budgets, or the fact they may be having smaller weddings and therefore want to spend more on their

dress? I think time will tell…

Andrew and Rob Pearce CREATIQUES BRIDAL BOUTIQUE Southsea, Hampshire

What trade events do you normally attend?

London Bridal Fashion Week, White Gallery, Harrogate Bridal Show, and Valmont Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week.

Have you bought for 2021 and how – from a virtual showroom; on a oneto-one zoom meet with the supplier; in your shop with a pre-arranged rep visit; at a ‘pop up show’ eg Milton Keynes?

We attended and bought via zoom presentations and fashion events from Justin Alexander, Sincerity. At Milton Keynes we bought 2021 from Mark Lesley. We have Kirsty from Maggie Sottero/Sottero Midgley coming to see us as we didn’t want to travel all the way to Liverpool for one evening, plus we were worried about travel to an area that could have been at high risk for Covid-19 but we did however watch the fashion event that they put on and we have some firm favourites.

AVENIR 35 LIGHT

What labels do you carry?

Justin Alexander, Sincerity, Mark Lesley, Maggie Sottero and Sottero Midgley.

Did you look at any labels that were new to you?

We purchased Adore, by Justin Alexander and Donna Salado as our new label.

Are you communicating your purchases to potential brides and how?

We are posting at regular time points our bridal collections, and now that our new occasion wear room is open we are posting that collection also. We are going live on Thursday to check in with our brides on both Facebook and Instagram. We also send newsletters out and are adding all the news points to our appointment scheduling.

Are your brides cutting down on their spend?

No, in fact they are not looking at budgets. We have had brides coming in and saying they want a dress now so we are able to sell our samples, AVENIR 35 LIGHT which is a bonus, plus having had such a huge discontinued list in March meant we had a good size selection of ready-to-wear in the store.

And on the latest lockdown?

We came back with a bang and have so enjoyed getting back into the swing of the shop.

But with the latest lockdown the bridal industry has been rocked again, and brides who had booked their weddings for early next year are becoming nervous and rescheduling with many now extending their dates to 2022 and some to 2023.

That said, the boutique has been busy with appointments which is very positive, and currently we are looking at 85% conversions.

Maria Musgrove PANTILES BRIDE Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent

What trade events do you normally attend?

The calendar for the year used to look like this: March London Bridal Fashion Week; April Barcelona as guests of Jesus Peiro at the Hotel Hesperia (and a little trip to the main show; In 2019 to see Enzoani and Sassi Holford as they weren’t showing in London; September Harrogate, of course, and for the Awards.

Have you bought for 2021 and how – from a virtual showroom; on a oneto-one zoom meet with the supplier; in your shop with a pre-arranged rep visit; at a ‘pop up show’ eg Milton Keynes?

I’ve never been a catalogue shopper and even now I prefer to ’see it, like it and buy it’ in a retail environment for my own clothes. Yes, call me old fashioned – I am a Baby Boomer after all, unlike my 16-year-old, Generation Z daughter who navigates boohoo. com like a Formula 1 driver screaming round a race circuit!

However, unless I was going to be last off the grid I needed to get virtual! I watched a couple of virtual shows for Go Bridal and was impressed but chose not to buy as at lockdown I was just taking delivery of gowns ordered in September 2019. Survival not stock is more important to me.

At Pantiles Bride I bought from three designers from photos and videos of the gowns which brought them to life. I only invested in the minimum from one of my designers and as she is my best selling designer it was easy to re-invest in seven pieces.

For one label I had my rep come to the boutique. She had over half of the collection and great images on her Ipad of the remaining gowns.

What labels do you carry?

At The Pantiles Bride: Enzoani, Jesus Peiro, Sassi Holford, Suzanne Neville and Willowby. At Go Bridal: Bianco Evento, Blue by Enzoani, Beautiful, Maggie Sottero, Rebecca Ingram and Sincerity.

Did you look at any labels that were new to you?

Thinking that the trend might be that smaller wedding equates to smaller dress and smaller budget and a more relaxed gown, I flirted with Anna Kara. However, I have decided not to invest in a new label for now.

Are you communicating your purchases to potential brides and how?

The ever-hungry social media

channels demand feeding every single day! As new gowns arrive they’re posted on reels, carousels and whatever else my social media manager out in Australia chooses to do with them. We need to keep the brand out there in front of the brides

constantly.

Are your brides cutting down on their spend?

At Go Bridal we’ve seen a slight downturn in spend and our sample room there is busier than ever. At The Pantiles Bride, if anything, my brides are spending more. I’ve had brides saying that they have more to spend as they’ve saved lots of money with no longer going into London and I had a bride today saying that as she will be having fewer guests so she has more of her overall budget to spend on her gown. Bring it on!

We may have fewer appointments but with a higher conversion rate (around 70 to 80%), a higher average spend and less investment in samples we intend to be celebrating our 24th year in business next February and onto the big 25th the year after.

Emma Hartley EMMA HARTLEY BRIDALWEAR Coln, Lancashire

What trade events do you normally attend?

We would normally attend London Bridal Fashion Week in March and Harrogate in September along with trips to see individual designers in various locations spread throughout the year. We like to have something new arriving regularly for our brides rather than a huge influx of dresses all arriving at the same time.

Have you bought for 2021 and how – from a virtual showroom; on a oneto-one zoom meet with the supplier; in your shop with a pre-arranged rep visit; at a ‘pop up show’ eg Milton Keynes?

We have bought quite a few dresses already for 2021. We were fortunate to have attended a private buying event hosted by one of our designers in March and lucky enough to fly off to the Amsterdam Bridal Event just before the lockdown.

During lockdown we arranged to have dresses from a new designer we were considering shipped to us so that we could view before purchasing. We had researched and viewed images whilst we were closed. We also attended one of our designers head office in September to buy Spring 2021.

And we are in the process of choosing a collection by viewing videos of each dress. To be honest we have been avoiding buying trips in hotels and venues as we are painfully aware that if an attendee or member of staff at one of these events tests positive for Covid-19 we would be forced to self-isolate.

What labels do you carry?

Our designers include Allure bridals, Enzoani, Randy Fenoli, Beloved by Casablanca, Nicola Anne.

Did you look at any labels that were new to you?

We researched new labels while we were closed and chose a new British designer. We were keen to ensure that if the supply chain from abroad became untenable we would still have a supply of dresses.

Are you communicating your purchases to potential brides and how?

We are using our usual social media outlets to show images and videos to communicate all new purchases.

Are your brides cutting down on their spend?

It is impossible to predict how trading patterns will evolve going forward regarding customer confidence and spend. We re-opened as soon as we were allowed on 15 June and had a steady stream of brides confidently booking weddings for 2021. It was far busier than we could have hoped for but, as the situation drags on without any real signs of improvement, brides are losing their nerve and delaying booking their weddings.

In terms of spend, I think there will be brides who decide on a cheaper, less elaborate dress for a more pared-down style of ceremony, but I also predict (and hope ) there will be brides who have saved money during the pandemic and are prepared to blow the budget, determined to have the wedding of their dreams with the party of a lifetime and a dress that makes them feel amazing.

And on the latest lockdown? And on the latest lockdown?

Although here in Lancashire we have been under additional restrictions since July, we managed to carry on trading despite being tipped into tier 2 then 3, and our diary for November was fully booked. We are now looking at cancelling for the third time this year. The impact on business is hard to deal with but whether one believes the Government is right in its latest move – I personally do not – we have to move on and plan for the better times, and our all-important customers, the brides. Right now, escalating the communications strategy is a priority. I do feel confident the bridal industry will bounce back we just have to hang in

there until things start to improve.

Danni Hesketh Y.A.P BRIDAL Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland

What trade events do you normally attend?

Our usual yearly planner would include dates for our annual trip to Barcelona buying in January, London Bridal Fashion Week in the Spring and Harrogate Bridal Show in the Autumn. We also tend to include in a couple of meetings with our designers or trunk show events throughout the year to trial new season styles ahead of topping up our collections.

Have you bought for 2021 and how – from a virtual showroom; on a oneto-one zoom meet with the supplier; in your shop with a pre-arranged rep visit; at a ‘pop up show’ eg Milton Keynes?

This year we have needed to temporarily evolve in our way of buying; our designer labels have been forward thinking throughout and provided us with virtual catwalk shows, online look books and zoom video call walk-throughs of key styles we’re interested in.

What labels do you carry?

We carry iconic hand-picked styles by the following design houses across the globe – Savin London, Maggie Sottero, Rebecca Ingram, Madi Lane Bridal, Evie Young Bridal, Libelle and Aire Barcelona.

Did you look at any labels that were new to you?

We have researched into key designers that are both current and new to the bridal scene and always keep an eye on hot trends that we may feel fit our North East bridal market perfectly.

Are you communicating your purchases to potential brides and how?

We are big advocates of social media and love to promote our new ranges with teaser campaigns and posts on new arrivals in studio on our social channels @yapbridal

Are your brides cutting down on their spend?

Our bridal market has adapted to the

current situation and our brides-to-be as always have a complete mixture of ideal spends in mind. Some have saved during the lockdown period and now have more to spend on their dream dress, opening doors to higher-end designers; some now want a second look for their evening celebrations and others now have elopements and smaller intimate days in mind with a lower ideal spend to match.