David’s Bridal is leaving its Conshohocken headquarters

David’s Bridal, the wedding dress retailer, is moving its headquarters from Conshohocken to King of Prussia. The CEO of the company, Jim Marcum, confirmed the move to The Inquirer on Thursday after it was initially reported by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The move to the new headquarters comes a year after David’s Bridal was sold to business development company CION Investment Corp, following the company filing for bankruptcy in April 2023.

“We’ve had a very long relationship with … Whitemarsh and … Conshohocken … and it’s been a very pro-business community. We can’t say good enough things about it,” Marcum said in an interview with The Inquirer on Thursday. “It’s kind of unfortunate that we’re relocating, although I think King of Prussia is going to be terrific and convenient to our associates. … We’re excited.”

Marcum told The Inquirer in July 2023 that the company was looking to relocate its headquarters but that it would stay local.

The new headquarters will be located at 630 Allendale Rd. in King of Prussia, and David’s Bridal will be leasing the space. Marcum said the company had been open to either buying or leasing a space.

The company has had its headquarters at 1001 Washington St. in Conshohocken since January 2000. David’s Bridal sold the building for $3.05 million in May to Hightop Development. The real estate development firm has plans to develop the area into townhouses, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Employees from the David’s Bridal Conshohocken office will move into the new headquarters, and it will be up and running in August. No one will be laid off, and around 200 employees will work out of the new headquarters, Marcum said.

The company is still operating on a hybrid policy, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, he said.

“It’s important to get the teams back engaged together and cross-functional, but ... we recognize in today’s world, there are areas and opportunities where people can work and be very productive hybridly,” said Marcum. “We are maintaining that balance right now.”

The new office is smaller than the one in Conshohocken, but it’s more modern in feel, with “collaborative space,” he said. The building also provides amenities such as a fitness center and cafeteria for employees.

The new office is 59,000 square feet compared to over 70,000 square feet in Conshohocken. Marcum noted that not all of the old office was “really usable, and accessible, or efficient.”

The Conshohocken building was located along the Schuylkill and had experienced a “pretty significant flood in the building” during the pandemic, he said.

“As we thought through long-term what was the best decision to do, we kind of came to the conclusion that it was best to start fresh and in a nice, exciting, vibrant space,” said Marcum.

When David’s Bridal filed for bankruptcy in April 2023, the business was dealing with a “post-COVID environment and uncertain economic conditions,” Marcum said at the time. It was the second time in five years that the company had filed for bankruptcy.

The wedding industry took a hit during the pandemic as gatherings were restricted and weddings were put on hold or reduced in size. Dating was also impacted, said Marcum.

“You were either in a relationship or you weren’t in a relationship at the time COVID hit, and if you weren’t in a relationship, it was probably pretty hard for you to be out developing a relationship … so you went through a kind of a trough there of engagements,” he said.

That’s changing, he says.

“Now, we’re starting to move beyond that period, and we’re starting to see some good tailwinds. We’re pretty happy.”