David’s bride hires a new CEO to lead the company as it hopes to transform from an old retailer to a bridal media powerhouse, nearly two years later The second bankruptcy.
Kelly Cook, the current president of Brand, Technology and Finance, will take over as CEO of David on April 1 and will become the second woman to have the highest job in the company’s 75-year history.
As part of Cook’s appointment as CEO, current CEO Jim Marcum will become David’s executive chairman, in addition to currently serving as chairman of the board.
In an interview with CNBC, Cook outlined her vision for the company and the work she did to bring David into the future. At the heart of the new strategy is positioning David’s as a media company that uses content to attract customers and then uses that data to drive advertising revenue from its newly launched Pearl Media Network. In terms of retail in the business, David plans to build an online marketplace and become an asset service business, relying on a network of suppliers to create products and fulfill orders.
“So we have sold about a third of the wedding dresses in the United States… bridal dresses are what we do, and that’s who we are, but we are expanding the shopping side to include more categories she asks for, men’s clothing, men’s clothing, men’s clothing, rentals, swimsuits, swimsuits, swimsuits, swimsuits, occasions, dresses, party dresses,” Cook said. “All of this was added through the Drop Ship Marketplace model, which allowed us to add vendors very, very quickly, and it allowed us to expand very, very quickly… we had to build more stores and add more square feet than we used to. ”
David’s transformation effort is in it from Bankruptcy caused by the pandemic This almost ended its business. The report said it managed to open about 200 stores after receiving a cashless bid from asset manager Cion Investment Corp.
Now, David’s has attracted a large number of investors and said it had received capital commitments from many companies on Tuesday, including private equity platforms and companies that provide debt. It declined to name the company, but said the new capital will be used to drive the company’s transformation.
Cook said the company was able to attract investors by touting its new bridal retail value. Currently, David is manufacturing about 90 to 95% of his stock, but the purpose is to lower the business to 50/50 points between his own manufacturing and external suppliers, Cook said.
This transition to asset container model will help protect the company from the survival risks of two bankruptcies – inventory and storage leasing – which may be some of the biggest burden on the company’s balance sheet.
Also, it’s like Walmart In expanding to advertising or so-called retail media, it is a way for the relevant brands to advertise to consumers directly on the retailer’s website or its stores.
Retail media is a novel way for companies to generate new revenue streams when they have never had the right time in the professional retail industry. The growing competition, uncertain demand and the speed of breakthroughs in trends these days force traditional players to become more creative if they want to survive for a long time.
The company said it could serve 90% of the entire bridal market, but sold only one-third of all bridal gowns in the U.S., indicating that it still has a big gap to end and has made many changes before it started growing. It also needs to manage its debt carefully and ensure that these new strategies pay off to avoid finding itself in bankruptcy court for a third time.
David’s, a private company, did not disclose its revenue or profits, but Cook said the company plans to expand “to drive profitability as quickly as possible.”
“Of course, this is definitely a new era for David,” Cook said. “The bride is developing and we are growing with her.”
