Friday 21 October 2011

2011 Wedding Season - Pretty good i'd say.



Hi Guys,

We are nearly at the end of our 'Wedding Season' , although we still have plenty of weddings going on throughout the winter, the vast majority of weddings booked for 2011 have now come and gone.


Time for a little analysis of how our wedding season fared in these turbulent times.


I have done all of the sums (these are a comparison of Jan 2010-Oct 2010 and Jan 2011-Oct 2011) and what I have found is reasonably interesting (well at least to me)


The Wedding Hire Service grew in total by 32% in turnover.

The total turnover of the hire service increased considerably. This is due to a number of factors such as the V.A.T. increase, an increase in our hire prices and the popularity of more expensive ranges such as the "Oxford Premium, The Harrogate and The Kensington"


The total quantity of weddings increased by over 100%

The actual number of weddings booked was over double. This was because the average group size was far smaller. The popularity of "The Harrogate" range lead to quite a few individual "Groom" orders which reduced the average size of an order considerably. It also increased the quantity of weddings considerably.

The quantity of individual wedding suits hired increased by 25%

25% is still quite an increase in overall suits hired for 2011. Although not as impressive a figure as 100% in total weddings booked. This is because of the popularity of individual suit ranges such as "The Harrogate" & "The Kensington"


Obviously the average size of a wedding party has decreased significantly. (average size last year was 6.5 suits per wedding, this year it has dropped 4.3 suits per wedding).

The average size of a group has been decresed because of the popularity of individual wedding suit hires. Ranges such as the "The Harrogate" & "The Kensington" are being hired just by the groom alone.

The most popular colour in 2011 has been BLUE. 45% of all hired suits BLUE in 2011.

The Blue Worcester & Harrogate ranges have been the most popular, followed by the Oxford Premium blue and the Kensington blue. This is the first year that Blue has been the most popular colour for Jack Bunneys.

The second most popular colour in 2011 was GREY. 30% of all suits we GREY in 2011.

Grey was the most popular colour in 2010 (by just a small margin) but this year this was the surprise colour. With the Grey Oxford Premium proving very popular. This was not expected or anticipated.

The third and fourth place colours were BLACK and BROWN. They made up 20% of the total hire suits.

The Brown suit popularity has declined quite considerably in 2011, this was anticipated but still being booked quite regularly. Black wedding suits are never the most popular but are always the most consistent. Black wedding suits are used every year regardless of changes in fashion or style.

The most popular hire suit style for the second year running was 'The Worcester"

Once again the most popular wedding suit was the Worcester range. Although the most talked about range was the Harrogate. We had more interest in the Harrogate range than any other new range we have had before. The only reason the Harrogate was not booked more was the 'Very Slim Fitting' nature of the suit. In honesty the suit just did not fit all shapes and sizes.

The second most popular hire suit was the new "Harrogate" range.

This suit was the most talked about and most popular, in terms of inquiries. It would have proven to be the most popular suit for actual bookings if it were not a very slim fitting suit. But then it would not look the way it does if it were not.

The third most popular hire suit was the "Oxford Premium" style.

A classic tail suit. But in a better quality than the stores and high street brands. It seems that the public do not always want something 'different' but they really do want something that is 'better'

3.Piece suits (with matching waistcoats) made up nearly 60% of all wedding hire suits this year.

More couples than ever have chosen the matching waistcoat to the suit for the guys waistcoats, rather than the usual fancy waistcoat designs. In fact the couples I have spoken to this year have not really been big fans of wedding waistcoats. A matching waistcoat also looks very cool with the jacket off, which I think is another reason for its popularity this year.

Wedding (fancy) waistcoats were used with less than 50% of all wedding hire suits this year.

Although we are still using wedding waistcoats, it seems that their popularity is still in decline. 2011 is the first year that the figure has dropped below 50%

Cravats were used with less than 30% of our wedding suits in 2011.

As with the wedding waistcoats, it is with the cravats. More and more couples preferring the simple tie. This is because of the popularity of 3.piece suits and matching waistcoats.

Ties were used with over 70% of all wedding suits in 2011.

This is quite an incredible statistic. I would bet (not actual money of course) that Jack Bunneys is the only men's formal hire shop where this is the case.

80% of all wedding suits hired had a top pocket handkerchief.

Another addition for 2011. Top pocket handkerchiefs were rarely used in 2009/2010, now they are virtually standard.

40% of all hire suits had a pair of braces included!

This is because of Jack Bunneys obsession with getting suits to fit correctly!

We hired less than 50% of all hire suits WITHOUT shirts in 2011. This is a drastic reduction 2010.

We have been actively advising our customers to purchase shirts rather than hire. This is to ensure that each shirt is fitted correctly to each individual. This is essential when wearing slim fitting suits.

We sold nearly double the amount of wedding suits in 2011, than we did in 2010.

This was a combination of made-to-measure, bespoke, made-to-order and ready-to-wear.

May, June and July were all up on wedding suit hires for 2011.

Whilst August and September were both slightly down for the quantity of hire suits for 2011.

October is also up on the quantity of wedding suit hires for 2011 and November and December also have a larger quantity of bookings than in comparison to 2010.

So what does all this mean?

Well it means that Jack Bunneys are becoming more and more popular with each year. It also means that even our 'hire' customers are looking for something that is 'different'.

For me these statistics prove that Jack Bunneys can provide a service that is both traditional and contemporary with one not necessarily impairing the other. Traditional modes of dress will always exist and there is a customer which demands this from a traditional shop such as ours, but there is also another customer who wants something more unusual for his wedding, that does not want an 'industry standard' and this is the customer which we always consider when designing new ranges.
But more than this my conclusion is simple: The vast majority fit somewhere in between the two, finding their own place, without being pigeon holed, standing alone as unique individuals, as we all should.

Marc

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