CASE STUDY
Multi-Channel Bridal Wear
client accolades
“Davies+Co. played a crucial role in helping us wrap our arms around the key themes and trends in the U.S. bridal market. Through detailed bottoms-up analysis and a host of discussions with industry insiders, who we would not have had access to without Davies+Co., we were able to answer our key diligence questions. We came away very impressedwith Davies+Co.’s depth of insight, thoroughness, and ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative findings into actionable conclusions. We look forward to finding additional opportunities to work with Lisle and her team”
– Partner, U.S.
our client
Global private equity firm with more than $250 billion in committed capital
target
Does this one need a target?
the mission
Weigh U.S. growth potential and identify risks associated with investing in a large international, multi-channel bridal wear company Answer questions critical to the investment thesis to inform the investment decision
our approach
Partnered with our client to conduct comprehensive due diligence including:
- Detailed assessment of U.S. bridal landscape, using bottoms up/ tops down analysis which yielded robust view of market size for bridal and related sub-categories
- Mapping of the bride’s purchase process, including social media use, impact of bloggers/ influencers and store visits. Conducted social media and website audits of Target and key competitors
- Primary research with industry insiders and key decision makers, leveraging Davies+Co.’s proprietary network developed over 25+ years in the retail industry, to gain insight on the future of Target relative to the competitive set and consumers’ view of the brand
- Competitive overview, identifying full competitive set and key players. Studied recent and forward-looking trends in bridal fashion and pricing. Mapped Target’s merchandise assortment and price points against competitors. Gauged competitive advantages and areas of opportunity
- Examination of management’s 3 year plan and planned growth initiatives.Calculated minimum growth required to justify investment and created financial model illustrating growth of that the Target would likely fall short of plan estimates. Performed sensitivity analysis to assess +/- scenarios
the results
Davies+Co.’s comprehensive analysis provided a detailed understanding of the feasibility of the Target’s planned U.S. growth.
Based on our work, our client was able to pass on the investment due to limited expansion potential and an overly high valuation