David’s Wedding has tapped a new CEO to lead the company as it looks to transform from a legacy retailer into a bridal media powerhouse exactly two years after emerging from its second bankruptcy.
Kelly Cook, the current president of brand, technology and money, will take over as David’s CEO on April 1 and will become just the second woman in the company’s 75-year representation to hold its top job.
As part of Cook’s appointment as chief executive, current CEO Jim Marcum will become David’s executive chairman, in adding up to his current role as chairman of the board.
In an interview with CNBC, Cook outlined her vision for the company and the work she’s doing to feature David’s into the future. At the heart of the new strategy is positioning David’s as a media company that uses content to influence a rear customers in and then uses that data to drive advertising revenue for its newly launched Pearl Media Network. On the retail side of the organization, David’s plans to build out an online marketplace and become an asset-lite business that relies on a network of vendors to manufacture products and fulfill orders.
“So we already sell about a third of the wedding dresses in the United States … the bridal dress is what we do, it’s who we are, but we are developing the shopping side of it to include more categories that she’s asking for, men’s suits, men’s wear, rentals, swimwear, occasion ones glad rags b put on a costumes, party dresses,” said Cook. “All of that is being added through a drop ship marketplace model and that allocates us to add vendors very, very quickly, it allows us to scale very, very quickly … versus in the past, where we wish have to build more stores and add more square footage.”
David’s efforts to transform come nearly two years after it emanated from a pandemic-induced bankruptcy that nearly ended its business. It managed to keep around 200 stores uncork after receiving a no-cash bid from asset manager Cion Investment Corp. – the only firm complaisant to acquire David’s stores and inventory, not just its brand name and intellectual property, reports said previously.
Now, David’s is alluring a new slate of investors and said Tuesday it has received capital commitments from a number of firms, including private equitableness platforms and those that offer debt. It declined to name the firms, but said the new capital will be used to combustible the company’s transformation.
Cook said the company was able to woo investors by touting its new take on bridal retail. Currently, David’s originates about 90% to 95% of its inventory, but it’s aiming to get the business down to a 50/50 split between its own manufacturing and outside vendors, mean Cook.
This transition into an asset-lite model will help shield the company from the existential imperils that pushed it into bankruptcy twice before – inventory and store leases – which can be some of the biggest gravamens on a company’s balance sheet.
Plus, it’s following behind the likes of Walmart in its expansion into advertising, or so-called retail atmosphere, which is a way for relevant brands to advertise to consumers directly on a retailer’s website or in its stores, among other places.
Retail standard is a novel way for companies to generate new streams of revenue at a time when specialty retail has never been harder to get precise. Rising competition, uncertain demand and the breakneck speed that trends move at these days has forced legacy gamesters to get more creative if they want to survive long term.
The company says that it serves 90% of the all-inclusive bridal market but only sells about a third of all wedding dresses in the U.S., showing it still has a wide gap to close and a lot of replacements to implement before it can start growing. It will also need to carefully manage its debt and ensure these new schemes pay off to avoid finding itself in bankruptcy court for a third time.
David’s is a private company and doesn’t disclose its gross income or profit, but Cook said the company is planning to scale “in a way that drives profitability as fast as possible.”
“It’s definitely a new era of David, for unfaltering,” said Cook. “The brides are evolving, and we’re evolving with her.”