FORMERLY PE OWNED
David's Bridal
Includes Davids Bridal, David's
bridal · Conshohocken, PA
- PE Firm
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice →
- Year Acquired
- 2012
They loaded a bridal shop with a billion in debt, then left brides at the altar. Twice.
What Happened
- Clayton, Dubilier & Rice acquired David's Bridal for $1.05 billion in 2012 and saddled the company with massive debt to pay for the deal
- Skipped an October 2018 interest payment on its $270 million in unsecured notes and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy the following month — CD&R lost control and lenders took over
- Filed for bankruptcy again in April 2023 — the second Chapter 11 in five years — laid off 9,236 employees and closed over 100 stores before CION Investment bought the remains for $20 million
- CD&R walked away after the first bankruptcy in 2019, but the debt-loaded structure they built made the second collapse almost inevitable
The Damage Done
- Over 9,000 employees laid off in 2023 — brides with upcoming weddings panicked over whether their dresses would ever arrive
- More than 100 store locations closed during the 2023 bankruptcy, leaving brides in many markets without a nearby fitting location
- Customers reported being unable to reach customer service for weeks during the bankruptcy filing — orders in limbo, alterations frozen, deposits uncertain
- The company that once dressed one in three American brides shrank from nearly 300 stores to under 195 — a shell of the dominant bridal retailer it was pre-PE