Just days after announcing plans to lay off more than 9,000 workers nationwide later this year, David’s Bridal the Pennsylvania-based popular wedding dress retailer filed for bankruptcy.
Its stores and e-commerce website will remain open during the financial restructuring process.
Founded in 1950, David’s Bridal sells mostly wedding dresses and prom gowns across 294 stores in the US, Canada and the UK.
The company executives are trying to arrange a sale of the company. According to court documents, the company has US $ 257 million in debt.
James Marcum, CEO of the company said in a statement, “We have successfully modernised our marketing and customer interaction processes and driven our retail service levels to best in class.”
He further added that nonetheless, the business continues to be challenged by the post-COVID environment and uncertain economic conditions, leading the company to take this step to identify a buyer who can continue to operate the business going forward.
David’s Bridal plans to lay off 9,236 employees in three waves between April and August, according to a notice posted Friday on Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor.
It is worth mentioning here that the company had also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2018 seeking to shed US $ 400 million in debt. It exited bankruptcy in January 2019, just in time to start its busy season.
