Many of you have probably read about China’s labor issues, with workers striking for higher pay. If you’ve been in Strut lately, we’ve talked to you about it because it is impacting our order times for wedding dresses, and we believe that informed brides can make better decisions.
We want to touch briefly on what this means for Phoenix brides looking for their dream wedding dress:
1. Ship times: Our brands are experiencing production and shipping delays. If you’ve already ordered from us, DO NOT PANIC. Your wedding dresses are fine–we padded in some extra time, and, looking at the schedule, we will get your wedding gown in plenty of time (even for alterations), but they may be 1-3 weeks later than we anticipated. We’ll be in touch as those dates near.
2. Order times: Because of the labor shortage, the shipping delays (waiting for fuller boats, for example), and unexplained customs delays stateside, we are advising brides to order wedding dresses a full six months before their wedding date. That means 2011 brides (Jan., Feb.) should be ordering now.
3. Rush orders: Many of our manufacturers have suspended rush orders going forward because they simply can’t make those promises based on situations beyond their control. Again, ordering early, or buying off the rack, is your best bet.
4. Rising costs: Our manufacturers are reporting a 20% increase in labor prices, as well as an 80% increase in the price of silk. We expect to see an increase in prices in September/October, when we go to the national bridal market, but this hasn’t been confirmed by our dress makers.
Again, this article isn’t meant to be alarming–we simply want our Arizona brides to understand why we encourage you to shop for your wedding dress so early. We’ll certainly keep you posted if anything changes!
Does the price increase apply to dresses you already have in stock (like the one I’m interested in) or will it only apply to new dresses? Should I consider purchasing my dress earlier to lock in the current price?
Gisele, that’s a great question, espcially because your dress is silk! Our manufacturers usually give us 2-6 weeks notice when making chances to policies or pricing, so I would be sure to announce that via FB, twitter, email, etc. And you, I’d call directly! 🙂
Lol yeah all that silk would be not so much fun! ok so you give me the word and I’ll align my troops 🙂 You’re the best ann!