Bridal buyer

22 WWW.BRIDALBUYER.COM

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Two new shop owners speak to Victoria Gallagher about the

trials and tribulations of setting up shops and share their top

tips for those looking to enter the bridal industry.

Setting up shop

Sally Brady, owner of Helena Fortley Bridal

in Caterham, Surrey, opened her store in

February, which stocks brands including

Lusan Mandongus, Paloma Blanca, Eliza

Jane Howell and Watters.

 I

DECIDED MORE THAN TWO AND A half

years ago that I wanted to open a bridal

shop so I visited Harrogate Bridal Show

three times to get a feel for

the market and fi nd out

how things work.

One of the big struggles

I had was fi nding a suitable

location. First of all I looked

for units in Tunbridge Wells

and Chislehurst, as I wanted

an affl uent location. I also

found a place in Reigate

but that fell through and I

eventually found a store in

Caterham last October. I took

the lease on and had a three-

month rent-free period in which I did the store

up before opening it on 15 February. I had to

fi ght for the rent-free period though; I only got

three months but some people managed to get

a year during the recession, so any new shop-

owners should defi nitely attempt to push for as

long a rent-free period as possible as you need

all the help you can get in the early months.

I’ve always wanted a shop and as I was an

interior designer I thought I would have an

interiors shop. However, I loved my wedding

so much that I wanted to go into the bridal

industry. Plus when I was shopping for my

wedding dress I had a few negative incidents

so wanted to make sure others didn’t have the

same experience as me.

At fi rst I didn’t realise how

it worked with regards to

the designers; the exclusivity

thing is the biggest hurdle

as they all have different

stipulations. Some say other

stockists must be an hour’s

drive away - but, if you’re in a

busy area with lots of traffi c,

that might only be a few miles.

Paloma Blanca was the fi rst

name that signed up and the

others followed from there.

One piece of advice I would give to new shop

owners is to fi nd out from your designers

what they expect you to buy a year. Some of

the brands expect you to buy a certain number

a year, which can be tough, particularly when

you have just launched.

“I didn’t realise

how it worked

with regards to

designers, the

exclusivity thing

is the biggest

hurdle”

Helena Fortley Bridal threw open

its doors in February, the day after

Valentine’s Day. How romantic!

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