A Port Kembla bridal store is struggling to help tearful brides-to-be who’ve been left scrambling to find another dress for their big day after the collapse of a US gownmaker.
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Around 95 per cent of gowns stocked at the Illawarra Wedding Centre in Wentworth Street are from Florida-based bridal designer Alfred Angelo.
A dozen brides currently have orders placed and deposits paid on their dream dress, but the orders are now unlikely to be filled.
Tina and Lawrence Thompson – who only bought the store five months ago – are doing all they can to help their customers, and save their business.
‘’We were given no notice – in fact it was a customer who came into the shop who informed me that Alfred Angelo had gone bust,’’ Mrs Thompson said.
‘’We’ve had no correspondence from head office telling us what’s happening, what’s being done to resolve the issue – we’re being left in the dark. We’ve also been left with a store full of dresses, orders that can’t be fulfilled and a dozen upset brides.’’
Mrs Thompson has offered the women a choice of a full refund of their deposit – or another dress in store.
‘’My heart just goes out to them,’’ she said. ‘’Alfred Angelo has been in business since 1933 so our brides trusted the brand, as we did.’’
The company declared bankruptcy on July 14, before closing down its stores in the US, Australia and UK. The chain also supplied dresses to 1400 bridal stores around the world.
‘’We’ll have to get rid of the Alfred Angelo dresses we have in stock – and that includes about 60 bridal gowns and about 90 bridesmaid gowns,’’ Mrs Thompson said.
‘’But I don’t know if we can afford to outlay the upfront cost of replacing all our stock with other brands.
‘’I don’t know if we’ll be able to keep the business going, one which we went into five months ago with such high hopes.’’
The first priority Mrs Thompson said was to keep her customers happy; then she’ll be organising a sale of her remaining stock: ‘’I’ll have to reduce the gowns quite dramatically to sell them off the rack.’’
It is not known if any other Illawarra bridal stores have been affected by the shutdown, as the company’s website now only features a bankruptcy notice and no stockist details.