"COMPARABLE" DRESS DISCUSSION/SWAP [Archive] - Baby Bargains & Baby 411 Community

Bridal Shop Owner

07-16-2005, 12:28 PM

Mr. Fields,

I must reply on this site and hopefuly set somethings straight. My wife and I have been a "mom & pop" bridal retailer for 17 years. We have 2 simple rules - "Treat your customers as you would like to be treated" and "Take care of your customer TODAY or somebody else will tommorow". By living by those two simple rules, we have had a successful business. We are not the Trumps but we are living the american dream - Working hard and owning our own business.

We got into the business because we ourselves got married. Both myself and my wife came from different jobs but we thought that there had to be a better way of planning a wedding. It wasnt just the prices but the overall planning of the wedding. So we decided that we would venture into the bridal busines, using our experieces from our previous jobs and adding that into our new store but with more. Shops in our area didnt offer the services that we do now - Gowns,shoes, jewelry, invitations, alterations, favors, all wedding accessories, tuxedos - everthing needed for the wedding. The main thing we give every customer is personall servive. We know every bride's first name. We treat them like family. We feel that's our formula for success.
We also can find our brides travel agents, florist, entertainment, resturaunts, limos, jewelers, hair stylist, even doves & buterflies. And we have been doing this for 17 years. Now we dont carry every bridal gown or designer and not ever bride buys their gown from us, but we treat every bride the same. Even today, we are trying to help every bride who has bought through DBS. Now we can not match the DBS price, but we try to do the very best for them. To make 10 or 25 dollars a gown is is why Martins is closed today.

As far as the bridal indusry goes, to be an authorized retailer, we have buy samples from each designer, 2 times a year. We carry over 50 different lines from bridal, BM, FG MOB. With each desinger you have to purchase about 12 bridal gowns, twice a year along with BM, FG, MOB etc. So as an average, we spend anywhere from $3000.00 to $10,000.00 per designer - twice a year for the new styles or season. Do the math. No add in all the other itmes needed - shoes jewelry, veils, headpiece, slips, bras, etc. Then you have to pay rent, taxes, utilies, advertising, payroll (if you a busy enough to afford employess), insurance, etc. But we knew this going into business. I even thought of being a DBS dealer, but after reading into them, I was concerned that I would not have direct contact with the deisgners. Meaning I was solely depending on DBS/Martins, which scared me. So we started with a couple of bridal lines, then added some more lines and went from there. It was a struggle at the beginning but we are still here, thank God after 17 years. Even today, we still worry about every gown order. Just last month, Bridal Originals, after 58 years in the business, decided to close. But the difference was that they sent us a letter on 6/14/2005,informing us that they would not be accepting anymore new orders after 6/24/2005 and that all orders would be completed by 9/15/2005. That's the way to do it. We will miss this compnay and we applaud them on how they are handling a very sad situation for the owners of this US bridal designer.

So Martin's comes up with this buiness plan and on paper it sounds great. "If Avon can do it , why not us". But in the bridal industry, "trans-shipping"- one authorized dealer selling to an unauthorized seller - is prohibited by just about all designers. This rule was in place BEFORE DBS was born. Martins new this but did it anyway. As far as the designers go, many knew what Martin's was doing and did nothing to stop them. I aggree, the designers are partially to blame for DBS beginning. They saw extra sales coming in and turned a blind eye to it. Some designers like Bridal Originals, stop doing buiness with Martiin's in 1997 because of DBS. But then internet came along. This was a way for FSBS to combat against DBS. Offer discounts on gowns that they WERE authorized to sell. No middleman. Now the designers have two problems - DBS and the internet. Over the past 5 years, designers have been pulling lines from Martins with the latest being Alfred Angelo and Maggie Sottero. Two major bridal designers that they can no longer offer to their DBS dealers. That hurt them. They are DBS dealers who have struck a busniess agreements with FSBS to buy some designers from them. The way this worked was the bridal shop, authorized dealers would sell the gowns to the DBS dealers, adding 15-20% onto the wholesale price plus the shipping. Sometimes this was a better deal that what DBS offered. But again, the DBS dealers were relying on a middleman and not directly working with the deigners. Many bridal shops closed and again left these DBS dealers out in the cold. Now the designers are prohibting prices of gowns on the internet and the sales of gown on the internet. Many designers are now instituting MSRP - Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price- Just like Sony does for their PS2. And we the retailers have no other choice to abid by these rules or lose this designer.

So now we have the problem today. Martin's Bridal closes, closing its retail stores and DBS, leaving all DSB dealers left to handle brides and their orders. And you have the people here, Mr. & Mrs. Fields, blaming the full service bridal shops and the deisgners. Let me tell you something Mr. Fields, and I am sure that just about every bridal shop owner in the U.S. will agree with me when I say - We feel for every bride today who is having a problem receiving their gowns. We hope that EVERY bride receives their gown that they choose and paid for in time for their wedding. But for Mr. Fields to demand that FSBS offer gowns at cost is ridiculus! Mr. Fields, are you selling your books at cost? Are you making a profit on your books? Of course you are. You sell your bridal book for $14.95. Seems fair. But do you tell your customers when they order your bridal book that your wholesale cost of $7.98! Of course not. You are in business to make a profit, just like us and the DBS dealers. We also feel bad for the DBS dealers who now have to pay the desingers AGAIN for the order so that their customers can receive their gowns. How is this fair to these people? It's not. And we feel for them because we as FSBS could be in the same situation if a designer decides to close down with no notice like Martin's.

So in closing, we hope every bride receives the gown of their dreams. Contact your DBS dealer, who I know will do everything humanly possible to help you. If they cant help you, please know that many FS Bridal Shops will help you the very best they can.

As far as Mr. Fields, I hope you change your attitude towards the FSBS as we are not the enemy. You attacks against us is unethical may maybe illegal. I noticed that you changed you posts regarding all the designers. You have done a diservice to all involved causing fear and panic when its not needed. Granted, many DBS dealers and DBS customers had no idea on what was going on and your post informed them but to say "Dont give the bridal shops the biz" is wrong!Plain and simple and it may come back to bite you!!

Again to all brides, we wish you all years of happiness and hope that you get to wear the gown of your dreams and please know that we the retail bridal shops are professionals and are willing a ready to help you on one of the most important day of your lives!

A U.S. full service bridal shop owner