Wedding venue chain shuts down; screws 7500 couples

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Here's where their locations were:

 
They filed for bankruptcy last May and were planning on reorganizing...I'm not sure I would have trusted them with my money up front
 
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Strange because the economy is doing so well, and all these DJs are doing so well earning a ton of money with all the weddings occurring...

David's Bridal is in bankruptcy, and currently in chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Samuels Jewelers...another retailer that heavily relies on the wedding side of the business is bankrupt.

Other large retailers...Sears, Mattress Firm, Brookstone, Rockport, BonTon, Toys R Us, Charlotte Rouse, Forever 21,Gymboree, Things Remembered, Payless...The list is pretty large for just 2018.

Lots of manufacturing jobs disappearing in the auto industry lately as well because people are not buying new vehicles like they were. The Stock Market is looking to be at the highest it can just about push.

Get prepared for the down turn. It's coming, and lowering interest rates is not a tactic that will work this time around to rejuvenate the market. Have your fun now...These are the good times, and have been the good times for the last decade! The Good times are going to end at some point!

...ON a side note. I just got a deposit for a September 2021 wedding...Just paid about 20 minutes ago! :)
 
Strange because the economy is doing so well, and all these DJs are doing so well earning a ton of money with all the weddings occurring...

David's Bridal is in bankruptcy, and currently in chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Samuels Jewelers...another retailer that heavily relies on the wedding side of the business is bankrupt.

Other large retailers...Sears, Mattress Firm, Brookstone, Rockport, BonTon, Toys R Us, Charlotte Rouse, Forever 21,Gymboree, Things Remembered, Payless...The list is pretty large for just 2018.

Lots of manufacturing jobs disappearing in the auto industry lately as well because people are not buying new vehicles like they were. The Stock Market is looking to be at the highest it can just about push.

Get prepared for the down turn. It's coming, and lowering interest rates is not a tactic that will work this time around to rejuvenate the market. Have your fun now...These are the good times, and have been the good times for the last decade! The Good times are going to end at some point!

...ON a side note. I just got a deposit for a September 2021 wedding...Just paid about 20 minutes ago! :)
Cuz they’re cheap! Their profits are minimal which is why they have so many venues. I see on the news how much people are spending (or in this case losing) at these venues. They’re not premiere destinations. They eventually can’t sustain themselves. Look at all the lower end department stores... shutting down. It all depends on what perspective you’re looking at things from. Everything you mentioned is low end... and as far as cars go, the cost of the average car is higher than ever... meaning that once again people are buying, but not enough of the cheaper options to sustain those brands that have slim profit margins.

Without providing specific numbers, do you know what your expense ratio is in comparison to your gross revenue? When margins are tighter one bad season can shut you down.
 
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Get prepared for the down turn. It's coming, and lowering interest rates is not a tactic that will work this time around to rejuvenate the market. Have your fun now...These are the good times, and have been the good times for the last decade! The Good times are going to end at some point!
By the same token, you should buy a nuclear / bioprotection vault now .. because WWIII is coming. The good times are going to end at some point. :)

...ON a side note. I just got a deposit for a September 2021 wedding...Just paid about 20 minutes ago! :)
Did you tell your customer the good news - that the down turn is coming? Did you offer them any assistance with this coming down turn?
 
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Cuz they’re cheap!


Is Macy's a cheap department store? Last time I was in a Macy's I thought the prices were high.

Amazon and Wal Mart have the lowest prices out there...and they are the big two and seem to be doing quite well compared to all the other retailers.

You mention Nieman Marcus as a High End Retailer who does extremely well, and supposidly makes a lot of money...Well I hate to break it to you, but they just filed for bankruptcy not long ago! The second time in 2 years. ...You know they have a long term Debt of 4.4 Billion dollars that they have been trying to get a hold of FOR YEARS now...THey can't seem to get their debt problem under control.

Neiman Marcus announced plans in September 2017 to close 25% of its Last Call outlet stores. ... It emerged from bankruptcy in August, but announced on February 14, 2019 that it was filing for bankruptcy again and that it would close all of their stores and its online operation in the United States.

 
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Speaking of the auto industry...

U.S. auto sales are estimated to have fallen by about 2% during the first half of the year, setting the industry up for its second year-over-year decline since it emerged from the Great Recession nearly a decade ago, two new studies warn


Auto sales are in decline, and profits are shrinking. Pre Cursor to what is coming ahead!

"There are other signs of trouble, including the fact that several utility vehicle segments have begun to flatten and even decline, including compact crossovers. At the same time, demand for sedans and other passenger cars continues to slide rapidly.

One concern is that many potential new vehicle buyers are being priced out of the market. The average transaction price — what customers pay after incentives and accessories are factored in — is at an all-time high $37,000, according to Edmunds, even as interest rates have forced buyers to stretch out loans."


...I hate using CNN, but just goes to show that even they are not hiding the issues the car industry has.


GM, 14,000 Jobs Lost. Honda cut 3,500 Jobs. BMW, VW, Even Mercedes Benz is cutting jobs. Land Rover cut 5,000 jobs. Ford suspending operations in Europe.


New Cars/SUVs/Trucks etc. have become too expensive for the general public. $37,000 average vehicle cost is too high. Nobody really wants to be in 7 to 8 year auto loans either.

"Parts of the world are already in industrial recession," Henry and Pomeroy said in a note to clients seen by Business Insider.
 
Even German Auto Makers have entered a period of endangerment!

For Germany, 5% of the country's employees work for auto makers, so it is important that they change with the industry, and improve sales since they have been slumping since 2017.
 

Is Macy's a cheap department store? Last time I was in a Macy's I thought the prices were high.

Amazon and Wal Mart have the lowest prices out there...and they are the big two and seem to be doing quite well compared to all the other retailers.

You mention Nieman Marcus as a High End Retailer who does extremely well, and supposidly makes a lot of money...Well I hate to break it to you, but they just filed for bankruptcy not long ago! The second time in 2 years. ...You know they have a long term Debt of 4.4 Billion dollars that they have been trying to get a hold of FOR YEARS now...THey can't seem to get their debt problem under control.

Neiman Marcus announced plans in September 2017 to close 25% of its Last Call outlet stores. ... It emerged from bankruptcy in August, but announced on February 14, 2019 that it was filing for bankruptcy again and that it would close all of their stores and its online operation in the United States.

Personally, I do consider macy's mid-tier... jcpenney would be on the lower end... and they're all struggling. As far as neiman marcus goes... I don't think that is accurate (especially coming from wikipedia), as that was a year ago and nothing has happened...and just 2 weeks ago they had a statement saying that "the chain is not in trouble but continues to make progress on our transformation into a luxury customer platform with a focus on profitable and sustainable growth. The issue w Neiman Marcus and the others, is the department store business model. Just too many rising expenses no matter how much profit is on the individual item of clothing. Keep in mind, that the parent company also owns Bergdorf Goodman which makes Neimans look cheap.

The other thing is, you're looking at global brands. While the American economy is strong, the rest of the world isnt, and that's whats causing these brands to struggle.

The original thread was based on a wedding venue(s) serving the american market, and from all I've seen, in a low-mid level demographic. Clearly the profits at that level aren't great and that was why quantity was needed. Unfortunately, with that amount of properties, the expenses can be unbelievably high, which if you have just one or two bad quarters, you're deep in the red.

It's why I make it a point in my business to operate with minimal expenses, so that even if I have a bad year, I don't get clobbered with expenses.
 
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There are still brands killing it out there .. at all price points. Just need to be different and desirable ..

 
This story sounds like Solid Gold that left DJs being owed money and clients losing money. Maybe what happened is they got way over their head. Things change over time and that means staying with the current trend. The sad part are those couples who put all the money they had into their wedding and don't have any money left to book another venue. How will they handle their situation? For those venues that did not close if any I would honor the contract they had with the company to save face and look good to the public.

I know that will cost them money but I say it's better to lose some money instead of getting a black eye and nobody booking an event there because of what happened. Very sad situation for not only the couples but what about the DJs who were going to be doing the weddings. Now how do they handle things.

They had a wedding to do in a certain venue and now that's gone. Do they keep the money that's been paid to them or give it back to the couple to help them out? I know they are not at fault for what happened. Yet do they want to look good in the couples eyes giving them a great review for the nice gesture? Of course if the couple finds another venue they can still use the same DJ provided they have that date available. The couple may have to change their wedding day due to this hot mess depending on if they find a venue that can accommodate them but not on their original wedding day. Just food for thought.
 
I hate to be the bearer of more bad retail closure news, but I'm that guy here on ODJT! :)

It looks like 22,000 more jobs are in jeapordy of being lost. I have not been in a Pier 1 import store in over 15 years...I remember their prices being pretty high. I am not sure how "High End" the store is considered, but they just filed for bankruptcy. They have asked the court to hold off until March 23rd so they can obtain bids. Trying to sell the company off. I wonder if anyone will buy it. They have 942 stores that will close up if another entity doesn't take on their debt.

They had announced in early January they would close up to 450 stores between US and Canada. Apparently, that isn't enough to save the company.

 
I hate to be the bearer of more bad retail closure news, but I'm that guy here on ODJT! :)

It looks like 22,000 more jobs are in jeapordy of being lost. I have not been in a Pier 1 import store in over 15 years...I remember their prices being pretty high. I am not sure how "High End" the store is considered, but they just filed for bankruptcy. They have asked the court to hold off until March 23rd so they can obtain bids. Trying to sell the company off. I wonder if anyone will buy it. They have 450 stores that will close up if another entity doesn't take on their debt.

Again... Pier 1 isnt high end... its great and its quality... but it's not high end... go to restoration hardware or similar furniture and home accessory stores for 3-4x the prices. Before this becomes soley high end vs cheap debate... lets look at this from a different perspective. Many of these retailers, which one thrived, ultimately failed to adapt to the current trends of the modern shopper or had outdated policies and customer service approaches. In my opinion, many of these stores were priced into the more price conscious shopper who also shopped online predominantly. So two things happened... they either didn't adapt and make themselves appeal to the online shopper... similar to what happened to sears... or they couldn't compete on price as that would eat up profits since their debts were very high (this is the point i was trying to make earlier). I feel most of these stores just didn't keep up with their target market and the trends early enough... and their collapse has been years in the making. Bed bath and beyond will be the next to go... why... they became too cheap with 20% off coupons that never expired... and as a result profits were minimized. The strategy was ok years back when the online marketplace wasn't big in their category of products and most went to stores to shop for these products, but with that becoming an online marketplace as well now, and Bed Bath and Beyond not adapting, their in store sales fell, and with profits already low, and their online sales not making up for the loss of in store sales... and well... they'll face the same fate soon.

I feel that last part is what happened with the venues. Probably no frills venues, operating on low profit margins, with high operational expenses. In some markets I'm sure they got some competition and they were no longer the cool place to have an event at or their selling approach didn't appeal to the millennial couple... therefore revenue lowered... expenses remained high... perhaps more as I'm sure they increased advertising to gain more business... but they didn't change themselves, meaning that all the advertisement in the world couldn't save their old and tired image that some of their venues may have had (not all I'm sure... but even a small amount can make a dent to their bookings when you operate on thin margins).

Many DJ's fall into the same trap... old and stale. Poor or no online presence... outdated appearances/performances/gimmicks... outdated music...outdated mixing techniques... outdated selling approaches, etc. Without adapting and change... we fail. We can blame it on anything we want, such as a bad market, low income, competition, etc. But the ones who pull through and succeed are always the ones that are able to adapt. I market my brand as one that consistently provides amazing service, personalized events (not custom packages... but literally a customized event from start to finish), and the latest and best in the trends. Even if a couple doesn't care for half of what I offer, they come to me because they know I'll provide a quality of service that few are willing to provide (few dj's want to have 2-3hr finalizations 1 month in advance, and weekly follow ups until the big day). Factor in that I also provide the latest trends to couples as options, I capture two categories, which independent of each other or when combined, does not have a lot of competition. I've also adapted by utilizing online planners, facetime/skype calls, lots of photos and videos to demonstrate products and services, taking digital payments, having online contracts with e-signatures, etc. This has allowed me to reach out to more markets, get bookings contracted and retained faster, and make couples feel at ease having an online planner and knowing they can do things at their own pace.
 
Many DJ's fall into the same trap...

It's not a trap if the DJ finds the trending client type and trends themselves to be unattractive and unrewarding. It's not always about image. I for example, don't want to work for the Paris Hilton's of the world, nor do I care to make social media a priority in my life.

For someone like me, the trends that you find attractive I find repulsive. I'd rather apply my skills to meaningful work that presents me with new challenges. By and large that's corporate events and not the current mobile DJ scene.

For those who are genuine entertainers (dancers, singers, emcees, etc) that party scene is exactly where they want to be and social media is their public relations. But, mobile DJs have never been more replaceable than they are in this modern X-Factor age. There are just too many better forms of event entertainment to make mobile DJs a viable long term plan. I actually see far more live bands at events than I do DJs. Following trends is not enough in this business to keep anyone from becoming the next Pier 1.
 
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It's not a trap if the DJ finds the trending client type and trends themselves to be unattractive and unrewarding. It's not always about image. I for example, don't want to work for the Paris Hilton's of the world, nor do I care to make social media a priority in my life.

For someone like me, the trends that you find attractive I find repulsive. I'd rather apply my skills to meaningful work that presents me with new challenges. By and large that's corporate events and not the current mobile DJ scene.

For those who are genuine entertainers (dancers, singers, emcees, etc) that party scene is exactly where they want to be and social media is their public relations. But, mobile DJs have never been more replaceable than they are in this modern X-Factor age. There are just too many better forms of event entertainment to make mobile DJs a viable long term plan. I actually see far more live bands at events than I do DJs. Following trends is not enough in this business to keep anyone from becoming the next Pier 1.
What you said is very fair. It's necessary to keep in mind though that we all have different target clients and need to appeal and adapt to them in different ways. As long as we understand who we're trying to attract and what those ways to appeal to them are, then I think one will have a better chance of success. Just like you see more live bands at events than Dj's... I see a fusion of Dj's and live instruments working together. I get clients asking about live sax players and electric violinists, and as such I provide them with options to make their vision come true. Some couples don't want to be limited to the music that a full band plays (many here provide a list of 100 songs to choose from), for example I just booked a couple from Miami who want a lot of house music from the club scene down there at their event (taking place in Philly). At the same time, there are some bands like the Hank Lane band (NYC based, and performed at Ivanka Trumps wedding) who are not only exceptional musicians, but also incredible performers and engage with the crowd and are high energy from start to finish, and have zero breaks in between songs, and seamlessly blending like a dj does. Of course, that band also charges 15-20k... so clearly that's not a viable option for everyone. I'll be performing with them at a Wedding where I'll be playing the greek music in between sets, as well as doing the after party (again another new thing that I'm getting asked about and providing services for, but if I didn't have all these extra systems and team to set up and break down the multiple locations, I'd perhaps lose the job to someone else.

Even within the corporate world, I'm certain that there are changes that take place that you must find yourself adapting to. I'm not gonna act like I know what they are, but you'd be the go to guy for someone looking to understand the needs of that segment and how to best attract and maintain those corporate clients.
 
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