74 WWW.BRIDALBUYER.COM
D
iscounting is the bane of a bridal shop
owner’s life, says Rebecca Doyle of
Isabella Grace in Tonbridge Wells.
“Everyone loves a discount, don’t they?
This is a tricky area and one with
lots of greys. Generally, when faced
with the D-question, we look to give
‘added value’ rather than a price reduction by offering
money off of a veil or an accessory, or to cover a rush
fee on a dress. It is also a question of how well you
sell yourself and make evident the benefi ts a bride can
have by buying from you as opposed to someone else.
The message that ‘our seamstress has been a bridal
seamstress for 30 years and all of your fi ttings will
be done in-house’ can be highly effective. There are
always going to be brides who will travel 300 miles to
save an extra £20 off a dress, even though it will cost
her more in petrol. And, to be honest, do you want a
bride who is going to bargain with you on every single
thing she buys? It’s not worth the hassle.
“I would say that today the average bride in the South East
will visit three or four shops before making that purchasing
decision. We have had some brides who have been to as many
as eight shops by the time they get to us but I think our
record was a bride who had been to 15 before fi nding the
dress with us. That sale was a challenge to say the least!”
Laura Daly of Bellissima Brides in South Woodham
Ferrers in Essex agrees. “There’s nothing
more defl ating than being asked for your
‘best price’ when you’ve just spent two
hours with a bride and found her ‘the
one’. We view it as rude, she views it as
her prerogative as a customer. Give in to
a lower price through force and it’s all
too easy to see how your whole rapport
with this bride could be tainted and that
she may well ‘push’ again each time she
spends money in your shop or, worse
still, brag about it to her friends. If she
wants the dress, and you’ve done your
job and qualifi ed the sale and her budgetWe are used to the scenario now. She loves that dress,
stands in front of the mirror, pirouettes to see it
at every angle. Tears well up. There are hugs
and kisses and she can’t thank you enough
for making her dream come true. Then,
minutes later, she is in negotiating mode and
demanding a better price. Her dream has
become your nightmare. Susi Rogol
asked some of the UK’s top shops how
they deal with the discount demanderbefore trying on, then the chances are she’s just pushing
her luck. She may well have been watching that so-called
‘Money-Saving-Expert’ Martin what’s-his-face on how to get
a good deal. You can’t blame her for trying but my advice is
to stand fi rm: she’ll soon back down and you’ll have taken
back the control you’ll need for the next time you meet. She
wouldn’t dream of asking that question in any other high
street retail environment. We are fools to ourselves if we
succumb to it.
“Sadly, the exclusivity areas of old have gradually been
eroded by some of our designers, and this means that our
bride may well return saying ‘I really loved your shop/
service but it’s cheaper up the road...’
“I would love designers to be able to stick to an RRP if
they could do so without falling foul of competition laws.
I’ve no doubt we’d all be better off.
“I think that you have to accept that not all visitors to
your shop are there to buy a dress from you - some are
just fi shing for ideas or planning to buy online. During
the appointment, it’s vital to keep the banter going to
include all the reasons why someone should buy from you
and why they shouldn’t buy online or have something
made by their aunt.”
Getting known for price-cutting is a real danger,
says Ellie Sanderson who has shops in Beaconsfi eld
and Oxford. “I believe that 60 per cent of my business is
recommendation now; discounting regularly will only
lead to a reputation that your
prices are infl ated and that you“There’snothing mored e fl a t i n g t h a nbeing asked foryour ‘best price”RETAIL ISSUES
BelissimaAlison JayneRight: Rebecca Doyle074-075.BB.163.Discount requests.indd 74 13/06/2014 15:24