The First Week of May, 2012, in Review

Posted on May 5, 2012 Written by Leave a Comment

 

By Paul Pannone

The wedding business looks to a strong fall while experiencing a moderate spring and peak wedding season. After several abysmal years since the 2008 economic collapse, the wedding business slowly adjusts to more prudent, less emotional spending on wedding events.

Part of the change includes smarter spending decisions by couples planning their wedding who look for direction from trusted sources, not opinions from self-proclaimed experts who spout their personal thoughts.  But tenacious independent retailers are not easily silenced. Many small business owners are vocal against Big-box operators , feeling they offer better value and personal service than chain-store, corporate stores.

A United Way event in New Jersey made newZ, using the Celebrity and draw power of Planner, Samantha Goldberg. The sometimes controversial but always entertaining Goldberg continues to cause waves for organizations she feels operate unjustly. eWedNewz continues our coverage of the story in the weeks ahead.

 

 

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2012

Filed Under: General News, The Week in Review Tagged: , , , , , ,

The Knot Goes Global trying to get Asian Women to spend like Americans

Posted on November 28, 2011 Written by 3 Comments

By Paul Pannone

East meets West on the Knot’s new international website where the marriage maker is trying to get the wedding bug to bite asian women planning wedding. And why not? The American wedding market is at a near standstill.

 

 The Knot’s move to China and capitalizing on the growing market is one of the smartest moves we’ve seen in the wedding business. Total dependency on the American market is what’s killing most wedding companies, as the number of formal weddings and spending decline. 

 

According to International Business Wiki 

  • There are roughly 10 million weddings yearly.
  • China’s bridal industry produces more than 250 billion Yuan ($34.5 billion) yearly.
  • Total monetary expending resulting from marriage every year has risen to CNY250 billion

At a glance the rising interest and spending in China is a far cry from the sputtering American market. Companies like the Knot, now dubbed the XO Group, have taken flight to other parts of the world looking for growth potential from countries that look to the western culture and lavish ways of spending their money.

In a recent New York Times story China chastises the United States overspending and going into debt saying it must cure its addiction.

China, the largest foreign holder of United States debt, said Saturday that Washington needed to “cure its addiction to debts” and “live within its means,” just hours after the rating agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded America’s long-term debt.

eWNz is confirming how the Chinese culture and booming economy views America as yesterday’s news. Significant apparel manufacturing sources say emerging chinese cities and the way people live makes us look like we’re standing still.

“They’re driving up prices on raw materials and they’re taking care of the manufacturing needs of their own people before they’re considering our orders over here. It’s getting more and more difficult to get production time in their factories and that will lead to higher prices,” say sources.

Current statements by eWNz sources resonate reports from trips taken earlier this year by others. Steve Lang of Mon Cheri gave his account of what will happen with China, openly telling his customer’s lead times will increase, service and quality will decrease and prices will rise.

 

 

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2011

Filed Under: bridal, Bridal Dresses, Bridal Magazines, Bridal Shops, Data, Economic news, facts and figures, General News, Research, The Knot, wedding industry, wedding websites Tagged: , , , , , , ,

Bad Economic News Signals Another Dip in Wedding Activity

Posted on June 1, 2011 Written by 2 Comments

 

By Paul Pannone

Elation of the New Year and better wedding spending reports issued in 2010 could be coming to a crashing halt, as higher gas prices, declining home sales and unemployment slows down formal wedding planning. Forward-looking survey results show a small segment of the overall picture (minus all the variables). Outdated information could be leaving some businesses stranded, now that updated information and reality sets in.

Ongoing discussions with wedding vendors say May and June  activity is sluggish this season. Many say they expected a better spring and early summer wedding season, encouraged by positive reports issued by wedding information sources releasing positive news at the end of 2010.

eWedNewz digs deeper into cases where allegations say the numbers were concocted, taking national numbers, reshuffling them and pawning them off as local market information. All say they’ve learned their lesson and look at all data, information and the most current conditions before making any decisions in the future.

Emerging economic news involving consumer confidence, the housing market and unemployment point to difficult times ahead; that is never good news for celebrating formal weddings.  

The Conference Board Consumers’ short-term outlook, which had improved marginally in April, turned pessimistic in May. The proportion of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months declined to 17.0 percent from 19.2 percent, while those anticipating business conditions will worsen increased to 15.5 percent from 14.0 percent. 

Unemployment stands at 9% nationally and even higher in many local areas. The major contributing factor to lower unemployment hinges on the ability to create good-paying jobs, getting people off unemployment benefits. But disturbing news about job creation shows growth in the job market weakened in May.

Consumer spending is the major driving force behind the U.S economy with home pricing in the top five rated by importance. According to CNN Money , “Home prices have already reached their lowest level since the housing bubble burst, and are now at 2002 levels. Sellers will feel the pressure to make deals before their homes lose even more value.”

The grim economic factors aren’t helping the formal wedding business. Sheryl Davies  says she’s watching the economic impact on couples. ”People are up to their ears in credit card debt. The internet is stealing retail clients. Weddings aren’t as important as they used to be.  Austerity is in. This generation doesn’t feel the same way about weddings as previous ones. There is even a weirdness out there at the high end-  a decorator told me that those $4000 weddings are few and far between.

Also, the bargain hunters don’t realize that you get what you pay for. Caveat emptor.  Buyer beware.

Compromising on their priorities is the norm today. More food, less punch and extras. All you have to do is listen to the U.S. news and it hurts consumption. We are more fortunate here as the great recession didn’t hit as hard and the cultural values are stronger but it is affecting everyone,” according to Davies.

Wedding analyst, Christine Boulton, told eWedNewz the shape of the economy and wedding spending are directly correlated. “Think about it; how can people spend more if they’re broke? Isn’t that essentially what it comes down to?” Boulton’s no-nonsense analysis done in real-time fashion takes into account prevailing reports, information and shifting variables– trumping outdated survey results and forward-looking statements.

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2011  

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Filed Under: bridal, Economic news, General News, retail, Uncategorized, wedding industry Tagged: , , ,

Cheaper But Classy Cultural Changes for Wedding Spending

Posted on May 31, 2011 Written by 1 Comment

 

By Paul Pannone

According to an online survey by TheKnot.com of nearly 19,000 brides, average wedding costs declined 5 percent to $26,984 in 2010. While average spending per guest remained unchanged at $194, organizers realized savings from reducing the average number of guests from 149 to 141, signaling a shift to essential core components that make a wedding classy.

The information reviewed by members of the Wedding Water Cooler felt the changes are not only proper but long-lasting. Wedding Analyst, Christine Boulton, of  Think Like a Bride cites recent statements by caterers that describe classy, elegant affairs but don’t break the bank. Boulton watches the changes carefully and dissects the meaning for her clients to guide how they allocate resources for most return. “It’s not the same wedding spending patterns of even a few years ago,” she tells eWedNewz.

Sheryl Davies of The Wedding Guide attributes the changes to cultural and economic conditions. “When you consider that brides and grooms are now 10 years older  when they marry than they were a decade ago I am not surprised. The couples are paying for their own weddings and 75% live together with mortgages, children and lifestyles – compared to the 7%, a decade ago. When their parents were paying they had much loftier weddings. Today, the economy and demographics have curtailed that. Also, wedding receptions are now viewed much like a party thus the casual atmosphere,” according to Davies.

Diane Freeland, owner of Events of Sophistication responded to Sheryl’s assessment saying, “I agree completely.  Factors such as the ones you mentioned, combined with the current economic pressures are pushing couples to reconsider the “reception.”  The whole dynamic of weddings is continuously changing because the traditional aspect of the bride’s parents paying for the wedding is slowly being phased out in most cases so the couples who are paying for the wedding themselves are looking to cut costs so that they may be able to purchase their dream home or as you said, they already have mortgages.  Also, the unique personal styles of the couple may be also causing a downward shift.  They are inviting people who mean something to them and not their parent’s friends and downsizing in the number of guests, more dollars may be allocated to entertainment and having a good time.

Many couples are also not necessarily living in the fantasy of the wedding day, but the realities of the marriage that starts the next day.”

Sandra Aaron, event planner in Toronto, expanded on Freeland’s thoughts adding,”More couples are paying for their own weddings. Gone is the day when parents save up money from the day their kids are born for their weddings; like they would do with their college funds. Weddings aren’t about entertaining the parents business associates anymore.”

Statistics provided by Samantha Goldberg & Co. show Tradition still governs high-profile wedding events.

 

At the higher end of spending, traditional values are still prevalent. Statistics provided by  celebrity wedding planner, Samantha Goldberg, supports the statement.” I would essentially agree 100%. However, shouldn’t we also consider the area they live in? Based on our (company) stats from last year, 73% of the 167 weddings we orchestrated were paid by the parents not by the bride and groom. Out of the 73%,  60% lives or lived in New Jersey. The average client paid $40,000 and the items that were covered by the bride and groom consisted of the dress, tux rental, rings and gifts for attendants,” according to Goldberg.

Please feel free to weigh in on the discussion. Your views are important, as the changes taking place in the wedding business impacts spending. The far-reaching information and results are in the hands of wedding professionals on the frontline that deal with real couples, not surveys that look backwards.

eWedNewz

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2011

Filed Under: Data, eWedNewz, facts and figures, General News, Promotions, retail, Uncategorized, wedding industry Tagged: , , , ,