David’s Bridal Has A New Owner, And More Time For Its Turnaround

Forbes Business Retail David’s Bridal Has A New Owner, And More Time For Its Turnaround Joan Verdon Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Following Jul 24, 2023, 07:03pm EDT | Press play to listen to this article! Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin David’s Bridal has closed on a deal to sell its assets to CION Investment Corporation, in a . .

. [+] transaction that will leep the bridal retailer in business. (Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Bankruptcy-plagued wedding retailer David’s Bridal has wooed and won a new investor who is promising to keep the company, and up to 195 of its stores, in business.

David’s announced today that it has closed on the sale of substantially all of its assets to CION Investment Corporation (NYSE: CION), a publicly-listed business development company. CION and David’s announced that CION has invested $20 million into the business and has assumed certain liabilities related to David’s bankruptcy filing in mid-April. Additionally, Bank of America BAC will provide a $50 million revolving credit facility and a $20 million term loan facility.

As a result of the transaction, David’s will continue operations at up to 195 stores – roughly two-thirds of its previous portfolio – and preserve 7,000 retail jobs, the companies said. Jim Marcum, the CEO brought in to turn around David’s Bridal in 2019, following a previous bankruptcy filing, has consistently maintained the company has an enviable position in the wedding market, as the largest bridal and special occasion specialty retail with physical stores. The initial turnaround plan was on track to reap benefits, Marcum has said previously , when the pandemic shut stores in 2020 and cancelled and delayed weddings originally planned for 2020, 2021, and even 2022.

Since becoming CEO, Marcum has invested in technology, ramped up the company’s social media presence, and launched a wedding vendor marketplace. The company maintains that its greatest asset is the fact that it comes in contact with 87% of American brides at some point in their wedding journey, either when they visit a store, or look at David’s offerings online. “We have the brides,” Marcum said in January, when the company announced the wedding marketplace.

MORE FOR YOU Russia’s Countercounteroffensive Finally Bagged A Ukrainian M-55S Tank Forget The MacBook Pro Apple Has Something Much Better Phoenix Records Three Plus Weeks Above 110 Degrees Here s Where Else Daily Records Have Fallen But David’s also has growing competition from online competitors, who have seen their sales rise as the current generation of brides are increasingly willing to order their wedding dresses online. David’s also must fight the perception by young brides that it is where their mothers, or even their grandmothers, shopped for their weddings. Gregg Bresner, CION’s President and Chief Investment Officer said in a statement that CION believes its decision to reduce David’s debt burden, and its store portfolio “will enhance the company’s ability to benefit from the expected post-Covid rebound in wedding activity and position the company for future success.

” Marcum, in a statement, said the deal “marks the beginning of David’s next era. ” The sale, he said, “provides us with the time and resources to drive forward in implementing our strategic vision. ” “In our 70-year history, we have dressed more than 70 million customers for the best and most memorable moments of their lives, and we expect to be dressing millions more for decades to come,” Marcum said.

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