Pronovias enters China: opens in Shanghai its first store in the country

Pronovias begins under the ownership of BC Partners its conquest of two of the most difficult markets for bridalwear: China and the United States. The Spanish company will open next week its first point of sale in China, which will be located in Shanghai. In addition, the group has designed an expansion plan in the United States that includes eight openings, starting with the relocation of its store in New York.

As sources close to the company have explained to Mds, next week Pronovias will open a 500 sq. m. store in Plaza 66, a shopping centre specialized in luxury where firms such as Chanel, Dior, Céline and Escada operate.

That store in Shanghai will become Pronovias’ flagship store in China, a market where it has been trying to enter for years. China is not only the world’s largest manufacturer of wedding dresses (in fact, Pronovias produces more than 90% of its garments in the country), but it also is a market with a long tradition of dress rental, which makes it difficult to sell them.

Pronovias will open a 500 square meter store in the shopping centre Plaza 66 in Shanghai

China is not the only objective Pronovias has for 2019. The company, led by Amandine Ohayon since its sale to BC Partners, also set the goal in the United States and designed an expansion plan in the country.

The starting point of the strategy in the American market will be the relocation of what the only point of sale the company has in the United States. The store, located in the 52nd Street and that opened in 2008, will move to a space with a bigger surface in the 58th Street.

The company will also start the search for new premises to open about seven stores in the country, focusing on the East Coast. Cities like Boston, Los Angeles and Miami are on the radar of the Spanish company.

Last April, the company hired Amanda McCormick Bacal as the new president for North America, a newly created role. The retail area of Pronovias is led by Antonio Rodríguez since last July. The executive, which has more than twenty years of experience in the sector, is in charge of the expansion of the company at both national and international levels

Cities such as Boston, Los Angeles and Miami are on the focus of the Spanish bridal fashion company

According to the latest available data, Pronovias closed 2017 with a revenue of 166 million euros, a figure that could advance to between 170 and 180 million euros in 2018. This forecast, prepared by Moody's, contemplates a “successful” integration of Nicole, the Italian bridal fashion firm that the group bought in 2018.

Pronovias’ ebitda will stand at 35 million euros in 2018, which represents a fall of 22% compared to the previous year, while the gross margin will range between 17% and 20%, in contrast to 24.7% in 2017.

The group’s debt, on the other hand, is increasing, going from a leverage rate of 6.8 times EBITDA to between 7 and 7.5 times EBITDA.