Pronovias fuels its expansion in US: four stores in three months

Pronovias extends its retail network in the United States. With the American market as a top priority in the new stage under the ownership of the BC Partners fund, the Spanish bridal fashion company develops its plan to conquer the country’s bridal market. In three months, the company has opened four stores, arriving in new states.

Between the end of September and the first weeks of November, the company led by Amandine Ohayon has opened stores in Los Angeles, Boston, Austin and Philadelphia, in the states of California, Massachusetts, Texas and Pennsylvania.

The bridal fashion company rivals in the United States are local giants of the sector such as David’s Bridal. Although they do not operate in the same segment, the American company is one of the largest companies in the world of the bridal fashion business, although in recent months it has gone through complications, even entering the courts.

Pronovias has opened at The King of Prussia mall, third largest shopping center in the country

Last September, Pronovias landed in Beverly Hills reaching a total of four stores in the United States. In the same month, the company opened a store at Copley Place in Boston, while in October it was the time for The Domain Shopping Center in Austin.

In November, Pronovias opened at The King of Prussia mall in Philadelphia. The King of Prussia is the third largest mall in the United States by  leasable area. The group operates also a flagship in New York (which has just been renovated) and two other stores in Miracle Mile in Miami and Galleria Mall in Houston. For the end of the year, the company plans a new opening in Los Angeles.

According to Pronovias, the bridal fashion market in the United States moves 80 billion dollars a year, 20% more than all that . In addition, according to the company, 98.5% of the brides still buy their dress in physical stores.

The bridal fashion market in the United States is a business of 80 billion dollars a year

Pronovias is totally focused on development in the United States. Last September, through the White One chain, the youngest of the bridal group, Pronovias announced the launch of the Zac Posen for White One collection in early 2020. The company has allied with the American designer, although at the beginning of November he announced the closing of his brand, focusing only on collaborations such as Pronovias.

Europe currently holds more than fifty percent of the Spanish company’s business. Ohayon’s forecasts go through the United States becoming the group’s first market in two years, thus advancing to Spain.

Pronovias, which has 155 directly operated stores and presence in 400 multibrand stores in more than one hundred countries, does not provide its volumen of sales. According to the latest available data, Pronovias ended 2017 with a revenue of 166 million euros, although it could have jumped to between 170 million and 180 million euros in 2018. This forecast, given by Moody’s, contemplates a “successful” integration of Nicole, the Italian bridal fashion firm that the group bought in 2018.

Pronovia’s ebitda in 2018 stood at 35 million euros, down 22% from the previous year, while the gross margin ranged between 17% and 20%, compared to 24.7 % of 2017. The group’s debt, meanwhile, is increasing, going from a leverage rate of 6.8 times ebitda to between 7 and 7.5 times ebitda.