Prom queens to bring £750k boost for store
A prom dress shop is predicting a £750,000 boost to its sales as the American high school tradition continues to sweep the UK.
A prom dress shop is predicting a £750,000 boost to its sales as the American high school tradition continues to sweep the UK.
Fashion Factory, based in Wyrley Brook Park, near Bridgtown, Cannock, is anticipating sales of more than 3,500 dresses as prom fever takes over at schools.
There has been a boom in popularity of American-style proms over the last few years with most secondary schools staging events, and even primary schools are now getting in on the act.
The company stocks more than 1,000 prom dresses at a time and more than 200 young women are expected to make their way through the store's doors every Saturday and Sunday from now until the prom season ends in July — with dresses costing up to £500.
Fashion Factory managing director Michael Edwards said: "The prom dress business has increased hugely from a couple of years ago when we had one rail of dresses, to the point that we now have a dedicated prom team working flat out for seven months of the year.
"Now almost every secondary school and college in the UK is hosting a prom and we are even seeing demand for primary school prom dresses as 11-year-olds start to hold their own events. We have already sold close to 500 dresses this season and expect that to grow week on week between now and July."
And thanks to the shop there will be no risk of girls turning up to a prom wearing the same dress. Mr Edwards said: "The unique selling point for us is that we keep a record of every dress we sell and guarantee that we won't sell the same dress to someone else attending the same prom."
Fashion Factory was established in 1994 and is a family-run firm.
The company began selling prom dresses in 2008 and has seen sales grow from 15 per cent of its turnover to an expected 25 to 30 per cent this year.
The prom dress success has prompted a change in focus for Fashion Factory with the introduction of a number of ranges for younger shoppers, moving away from its core business of more traditional fashion.
Predictions in terms of trends are for the big, full, princess dresses which were so popular last year, in a rainbow range of colours.
