Experts believe manufacturing high-end wedding gowns is the way ahead…

It is universal that most people on this planet will get married and a substantial amount of their wedding budget will be kept aside for the wedding gown. It is more of an emotional drive that each bride would want to look the absolute best with the most magnificent gown on her special day – the day when all eyes would converge on her and the pictures will tell the tale for years to come.

Bangladesh’s apparel makers who are looking to manufacture high-end products, both for the sake of high profitability and sustainability in the stiff business competition, can try to capitalise on this market, which is driven by the belief of marriage being once-in-a-lifetime event and therefore the bride must strive for that perfect look.

Even a year ago, Bangladesh was second in the rank of apparel suppliers in the world with a 6.3 per cent market share, second to giant China. In time, Vietnam has come up with a variety of product differentiation and innovation to take up that second spot and push Bangladesh behind, on the third spot, with a diminished market share of 6 per cent.

In today’s world, when the prices of apparel items are dwindling worldwide and profitability in the business is coming down, the wedding market is here to save the day it seems.

Driven by exuberant amounts being spent on bridal wear in different cultures across the globe, the commercialisation of weddings can offer a break to the manufacturers. It is one market that is likely to stay constant.

“High-end value manufacturing is a must-do if Bangladesh wants to diversify its market and increase its export earnings, Brig Gen Aftab Uddin Ahmed, CEO of Centre of Excellence for Bangladesh Apparel Industry (CEBAI), a research and development institution focusing on the apparel industry, tells Apparel Resources. According to him, Bangladesh will only sustain in the competition if it concentrates on manufacturing high-end products. “We can make wedding gowns, you know! Wedding gowns have a lot of money and they have the potential to fetch a big amount of money for Bangladesh.”

According to market research, the bridal gowns market is estimated to be valued over US $ 32.4 billion by 2017 end and has the potential to reach a worth US $ 43.5 billion by the end of 2022. The market is anticipated to register a compound annual growth rate of 6 per cent during this five-year period from 2017–2022.

Transparency Market Research says, the market of Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ) was the leading regional market holding the major revenue in wedding gowns in 2017 and is expected to have the dominance through to 2022. This market will have a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 per cent during this five-year period and will weigh in at US $ 13.5 billion. The main driving factor of this regional market is mainly due to burgeoning spending on wedding gowns.

Among the popular market destinations of North America, Latin America, Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Japan, North America is expected to be a prominent market for wedding gowns and will likely to register a bolstering compound growth rate of 7.1 per cent through the course to 2022. By then, the market is expected to value in at US $ 11.1 billion. It is expected that the growth will be fueled by fabric innovation, new designs, and styles, and that designer bridal dresses will make the biggest stand in this market segment.

The major styles in bridal gowns include ball gowns, A-line dresses, sheath wedding dresses, mermaid-style dresses, tea-length wedding dresses, and trumpet dresses. The ball gown leads among these as it held the biggest chunk of revenue in 2017 and is expected to witness major absolute growth through to 2022.

According to market research, the ball gown segment registered sales of over US $ 8.5 billion by 2017 – which represented a dominating 26 per cent market share among the wedding gown market. With a net growth of US $ 564 million every year, this segment of gown is expected to have a compound growth rate of 5.8 per cent till 2022. Experts think, the flexible style and its ability to fit all body shapes and sizes is the main reason behind its popularity.

sof the leading players operating in the market are Kleinfeld Bridal Corp., David’s Bridal, Inc., Elie Saab France, Harrods Limited, JLM Couture, Inc., Justin Alexander, Inc., Maggie Sottero Designs L.L.C., and Moonlight Bridal Design, Inc. – all of who are making bridal gowns from the starting range of US $ 1,000 on an average.