Hello, everyone. Welcome back. We're at OmniTalk Retail. I'm Anne Mazinga. This is E-Tail West 2026. And I am so excited to bring you our very next interview. She's fresh off the stage. But before I do that, I want to give a quick thank you to Netelixer for helping us bring you all of our coverage here from E-Tail West. Netelixer is the AI-powered growth engine behind mid-size e-commerce brand growth for over 22 years. Thank you again for helping us bring you these interviews like our next guest who is David's Bridal CEO, Kelly Cook. Kelly, I am so excited to have you on the show. I mean, I just was when I like found out we were going to interview you, we've been tracking and following all the things that David Bridal has been up to. I was so excited. So let's start by giving our audience a little bit of your background and what you oversee in your role as CEO of David's Bridal? Sure. So a little bit about my background. I started out in the airline business. Then I went to the trash business. Then I went to the shoe business. So it was kind of like planes, trains, and automobiles. It was planes, trash, and shoes, which is an amazing journey. And then I ended up at David's Bridal, which there's nothing better, than being in the love business. This is a happy, joyful business. I've probably met 30 people at e-tail and 30 out of 30 have some connection to david's bridal oh my god my wife got her dress my bridesmaids whatever it's just a wonderful company to run oh my gosh and talk about kind of what you oversee now at david's bridal what divisions are you yeah day to day so as a CEO of the company basically all operating visions divisions of the company report into me I have seven direct reports that are structured for growth and for digital and for AI and for tech that's mainly our focus right now. Okay well I want to start by talking about what some of the stories that have been in the headlines. You guys have been in the headlines a lot this past year. Tell us about some of the things that you're piloting right now at David's Bridal and kind of give us an update. It's been a wild ride Anne that's for sure. So as of April 1st of last year not April Fool's Day. I must made CEO April Fool's Day but I came back to work on the second and I I was still CEO, so that's great. That was not a joke But we launched our new strategy called Aisle to Algorithm which is really we basically the everything bagel of weddings It an AI and asset light approach to retail medium planning for the wedding industry And it was a great thing for the business because the bridal TAM is about $4 billion, the wedding TAM is about $70. So the combined is around an $80 billion TAM that we're now participating in. We have transformed the company from everything from how we do internal processes to how we serve brides. We launched DoorDash, of which the number one city in DoorDash for Bridal Gowns, Las Vegas. Oh, my gosh. So we have that. I had no idea. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. It's crazy. We launched a new store in Liverpool. We're doing everything asset-light and AI-based. And we are going to make tremendous progress financially from our business in 25 to 26. Okay, so you've been talking a lot about tech, Kelly, but maybe I'm old-fashioned. But when I picked out my bridal gown, it was in person. It was in the store. There's kind of this ritual about it. How does tech come into play now in the consumer experience at David's Bridal? And how do you think about kind of merging the online experience or discovery experience and what's happening in the stores when that yes moment happens? So I love that question. And I would call it a tech sandwich. You've got high tech on one end and high tech on the other. But in the middle is an in-person bridal appointment. And that doesn't change. She has to try it on physically and be there with her mother and her bridal party. And it's a very special moment. Fit is everything because these pictures last forever. and as a woman we most most of us don't like something about our bodies so you have to like try it on but the tech sandwich comes in at the beginning virtual try on augmented reality wedding themes to get the right bridal colors for your bridesmaids and then she has the appointment and then we take her on a 300 task journey through agentic ai to plan her wedding a 300 There's 300 tasks to plan a wedding. Yeah. And her number one emotion for 18 months is stress. She's stressed for 18 months. So our entire focus is de simplify let everything she wants to do in her dream meet her budget because it financial stress as well So that what the Agenda Gay Solution So that why we got tech on both sides the tech sandwich, wedding tech sandwich. Well, and so you were just on stage and you talked about this bridal tech revolution. Is that what you just described? Tell us a little bit more about how you define a bridal tech revolution. What does that look like? Yeah, so it's everything from the, even before she gets proposed to, all the way to the honeymoon and more. And what's amazing about what we built is that our brides are household CEOs. They're household formation. And so the media and ad network platform that we built with TriCarter that sits on all of our assets, we have companies that sell mattresses, Ann, that love us because the 60 days after they're married, they're setting up their home. Right, right. So all of those partners that we have are really working. So it's basically taking every aspect of that journey for her and simplifying in a way through tech, VR, AR, AI, that brings that dream to life. And that's our 100% focus. What do you think is most important for those people in the audience to take away from the session today? And maybe what would you tell our audience at home who's catching up? Yeah. So I have three pieces of advice because this kind of large scale transformation is not for the weak. Yeah, I cannot imagine. And a 300, you know, process like I will take any advice that you have. And I'm certain our audience. Well, so three pieces of advice. The first thing that I would say is be somebody's shot of whiskey, not everybody's cup of tea. So figure out what you're good at and your business and expand that through AI and asset light ways, because it just it drives profitability much faster. The second piece of advice I would give you is if you look at the circle of people around you and you're not inspired, then you don't have a circle. You have a cage. So you want to hire people that really inspire, that champion the growth. And the third thing that I would say is don't take yourself too seriously. Take what you do seriously. Have fun. Large scale transformation is extremely difficult. But God, the payoff is unbelievable. Oh, my gosh. Well, those are what I love. Be somebody shot of whiskey Not everybody cup of tea I will be putting that on a post note and looking at that every day Kelly Excellent Indefinitely Awesome. You got it. Well, Kelly, what can customers in 2026 expect from this bridal tech revolution sounding like some of the partners that you're bringing in or that will really help your customer along their journey from before engagement all the way through the wedding and now after too. What else can they expect? So here's my next vision that I want. I want a bride to come in, give us a couple of prompts and we build a complete augmented reality of her wedding vision actually in motion with video. And once she's happy, she hits a button and she buys everything at one time. Instead of having to go through the 300 tasks, it's one button and all 300 are done. That's my vision. That would be the best thing for her. That's like taking the room designer, but it's all it's like a life designer like this is unbelievable and and what tech what do you think has to be true about the team and the technology that you're investing in to make that vision of yours come to life kelly yeah so i would tell you talent's everything in i mean i'm not lying like it is everything and they have to be fun focused and fearless that's that's really the key because it's hard it's hard you get into the grind every day you make mistakes you trip up you don't see the results fast enough. And that sort of focused and mindset is really good. And I would also say laugh and have fun at the same time. I mean, I am the CEO, but sometimes I feel great. And sometimes I feel like a busted can of biscuits. That's just the way life is. I mean, yeah, I just got off chasing a CEO. And last night I got out of my rental car with my seatbelt on. Like it's just stuff happens, you know, forgive yourself and have fun and really hire. Well, you can't hire a chef and yell over their shoulder to chop faster. You'll get stabbed in the eye with a carrot. Right. So you just have to really hire the right kind of people. Right. Oh, Kelly Cook, CEO of David's Bridal. I my my entire day and life is better for having just heard you and your wisdom right now. Thank you so much for making the time for us. Thank you again to Netelixer for helping us bring you this incredible woman and our interviews from the show here at E-Tail. And until next time, be careful out there.
