Can David's Bridal Make Outlet Shopping Feel Luxury? | Fast Five Shorts

David's Bridal debuted the Outlet Shop by David's Bridal, which is a hybrid outlet plus full price shop and shop concept that opens opened up Inside its existing McAllen, Texas location with more locations planned this year, according to Retail Dive.

The outlet shop and shop opened earlier this month per a July 14 press release.

And David's Bridal is currently evaluating additional locations to open throughout the country this year.

The store now features discount wedding, bridesmaid, guest prom and mother of the bride dresses.

I guess that's the thing.

I didn't even think about that until I read this alongside the retailer's full price assortment, giving shoppers a one stop shop experience at a single location.

Josh, I can't think of anything more out of place than two dudes discussing bridal retailing.

But as a lifelong retailer, do you think selling both bargain hunting and luxury under one roof is a wise move for David's Bridal?

Yeah, so as you mentioned, Chris, I am definitely not the Target shopper here.

I have never been in a David's Bridal, but I do think this can work.

But I think it's all about how they execute it in the store.

So, you know, the store experience for, for the discounted product I think has to feel separate in my opinion.

I think, you know, they have to protect the brand and not turn away the shoppers that are maybe looking for this more elevated experience.

If you have a bunch of discounted product, you know, sitting nearby on a crappy rack with orange stickers like it's not going to work great and be a good reflection of the brand.

But I'm sure they've thought through that and that's not their plan.

And I think from a customer side of things, you know, I think people will appreciate the value options that this, this gives them.

And especially you know, kind of in the macroeconomic environment we're in today where, where value is king.

So Josh, going back, let's take Gap as an example.

So like, so it sounds like you sounds like net net.

You're kind of, you kind of like this move from David's Bridal.

Is this something you would advocate like a Gap to do?

Should they combine their Gap stores with their Gap outlets into one under the roof experience?

I don't, I don't think I love that.

I think, you know, David's Bridal feels like a smaller, more, you know, kind of intimate, more service focused experience than like a Gap or another retailer.

But I wouldn't love that.

I don't think.

And they kind of do that with it's just clearance.

Right.

Today.

Right, right.

Where the outlets are just getting the clearance product and they're selling a bigger assortment of that.

And so it exists in those stores today.

It's just not, you know, a separate experience.

I don't think they need to do that.

Right, right, right.

Yeah.

I think for the average retailer is why I asked the question.

Like, I hate this idea for the.

Yeah, you do, too.

You hate it, too, for the average retailer.

Yeah.

I don't think it would work well in the average retailer.

I think it's more, you know, this isn't a very.

Something you do very often.

Right, yeah.

Right.

And I think the reason for that and, and when I first read the headline, I was like, I hate this move.

I hate it.

I hate it.

But then I got thinking about it and I was like, but bridal shopping is different.

It's different than everyday weekend clothes shopping, you know, or every, you know, every few weeks clothes shopping, you know, because it's occasion shopping.

And so it could make sense in regards to how do.

How does David Brighter bridal.

Excuse me, Capture more of that occasion?

Will that work for that?

Because it's such a defined period of time in people's lives that they're only going to spend so much time doing it.

So.

So I think it just might work for.

For.

For that reason, because it gets more wedding shoppers in the doors, which is what I think you ultimately want.

Josh, am I onto something there?

Do you agree with the whole occasion premise?

I do agree, and I also think that these are a lot of the time, they're big ticket items, right?

Yeah.

So when you're going to go spend hundreds of dollars on a dress and you maybe don't have the budget to do that, and you can go spend, you know, a couple hundred, 150, something like that, it feels like you have options where it's different.

When you go in a Gap or, you know, you go to another apparel retailer where there is a variety of price, you know, a lot of the time, or you're picking the retailer based on price.

But when you're spending a lot of money on a dress or something for your wedding, I think.

I think the having, you know, tiers in pricing makes sense.

Yeah.

Or you're at a mall and there's lots of options for those, you know, different specialty barrels, too.

Like here, like, you know, there just aren't that many wedding stores and you only have so much time.

So I think of it like home and furnishing shopping a lot of ways like there's, there just aren't that many wedding stores and you only have so much time in the day.

And so how do you just get that all done?

What's the job you need to do to your point on that high ticket item?

And how do you see what's most available to you and therefore what you want to purchase, given the options?

And so, yeah, I think they're, I think it's a, it's a timeshare grab play here at the end of the day.