The wedding dress is a family affair for Alexis Mariage. Tell us.
In fact, Alexis Mariage is a true family group. My grandparents were businessmen of the Pronuptia wedding dress brand, my father worked all his life in the marriage business, accompanied by my mother who put together the collections, and I have been working in this universe for more than 25 years. It is therefore a world that I especially like and that I know very well. In 2017 I created the Alexis Mariage group to be able to offer professionals the most beautiful wedding dresses created in Europe. Today, our group is the market leader in France and supplies 150 multi-brand stores.
What are the particularities of Alexis Mariage?
Alexis Mariage distributes 8 major European wedding dress brands, in order to satisfy all requests, all tastes and all budgets.
Pronuptia is Alexis Mariage’s “locomotive”, thanks to a collection of 40 dresses with a timeless style that meets most feminine criteria.
We also work with the Modeca house, the Dutch leader that offers very refined dresses, but also with the GBS house with Hervé Paris or even Libelle. In 2019 I bought Matrimonia, an emblematic French brand, whose creations attract a large part of the clientele. Without forgetting Curves by Modeca, a range of magnificent wedding dresses in plus sizes, with models ranging from 44 to 62.
Last year I launched the Pronuptia by Nicolas Fafiotte capsule collection, with the aim of offering around fifteen models designed in the haute couture spirit with a modern and chic design.
Today we present 350 models of wedding dresses, whose prices range between 800 and 2000 euros. A dozen stores in France only sell our brands. We offer them communication support in the media and on social networks, we provide them with a catalog of all the creations, this is true support.
In 2020, Alexis Mariage also took over the Pronuptia brand, why this choice?
Pronuptia represents the iconic wedding dress brand in France. Created in 1958, it has managed to democratize the wedding dress with trendy models, accessible to all. In debt, the brand had to close two years ago, and that’s how I bought the name. Previously, Pronuptia creations were sold only in about forty branches, today they are available in all our partners. We have also recruited around sixty new stores into our network since this acquisition. Our goal is to relaunch this brand, known to all parents, to promote it among the younger generations.
The Covid pandemic has been a painful ordeal for the world of marriage. What is the situation today?
In fact, for two years, many marriages had to be canceled or postponed. So we are in the process of catching up on the backlog. The year 2023 will be a very good season, with around 270,000 ceremonies planned to celebrate. All this should be regularized in 2024, with an average of 230,000 unions expected for the year.
The wedding dress is still an important element in a wedding budget, because it is an important and unique day in the life of a couple. However, today all the prices of the suppliers are increasing, the cost of raw materials is increasing, as is the cost of labor. Therefore, the challenge for us is to face this crisis.
How can you stay competitive, especially in the age of the Internet and online shopping?
Web-based wedding dress shopping is far from the norm. It is essential to try on the dress, to be able to adjust it, personalize it. All of our partner boutiques offer customer support and real advice. In addition, future brides like to find themselves in a neat store, with a cozy atmosphere, it is a day that they share with their mothers, their friends, and it continues to be a joyful and emotional moment. That is why the second-hand and rental market is struggling to establish itself in our area. On the other hand, we are attentive to imports, to avoid supply problems, many dresses are designed in Eastern Europe. We also work with many French designers, the fabrics mostly come from Europe, to offer quality and fashionable dresses.
This content was produced with SCRIBEO. The BFM BUSINESS editorial team was not involved in the production of this content.
Source: BFM TV
