Courtyard Bridalwear Alex Polizzi - The Fixer

Family businesses make up a quarter of the British economy and employ nearly ten million people.

But 1,000 small firms are going bust every single month.

Sorry.

-This business is on a knife edge.

-At some point we'll have to call it a day.

For God's sake, do something.

For family firms, not just profits, it's relationships on the line.

£50,000 now and you'll never see me again.

I don't know if it's ever going to get better.

You must see some hope, otherwise let's not bother with this, then.

I'm Alex Polizzi. I grew up in a family business

that expanded from one small cafe to become an empire worth billions.

Now I'm trying to bring family firms...

-ALL: Hello.

-..back from the brink.

This is a business!

You're ruining your health, you're ruining your family life.

He's just used to getting his own way, and I'm used just getting mine.

This week, a bridal shop in dire straits.

What proportion will end up on the remainder rail?

-90%.

-Oh, God.

With a mum with no brains for business...

-That is a failure.

-..and squabbling sisters...

You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

..will it all end in tears?

I've been called into a family run bridal business in the Midlands.

With over a quarter of a million weddings every year in the UK

it's an industry that's worth nearly £130 million annually.

Even though the economy is in trouble, people still spend money on weddings.

This is a business that should be more or less recession-proof.

But Courtyard Bridal Wear in Kettering is in trouble.

Ready? In this sort of shop, we always have the tissues!

It was set up by Anne Preece nine years ago.

I love doing it, my life is wrapped round it, my life is wound up in it.

But Anne's seen profits nosedive for the last three years.

What I know about the shop is it's run by a mother and her two daughters.

I said what are you looking for?

I was looking for a 38 trouser, but I had to leave what I was doing and go and look for it.

But as the business crumbles around Anne,

her two daughters are focusing their attention solely on each other.

If you don't deal with them, how am I supposed to know?

Bethan and I have fallen out since we've been working together.

I don't think she trusts me any more.

-Are you annoyed with me?

-No.

You ARE annoyed with me cos we could cut the atmosphere with a knife.

It's fine.

'If she talks to me, she annoys me,'

so I'd rather just leave her for three days and not talk to her.

The truth about this shop that I'm going to is it's in trouble.

Anne can't afford to pay herself a wage

and has had to remortgage her home to keep the shop alive.

It IS quite scary at the moment.

The real worst-case scenario would be

to end up in a bankruptcy court -

that would be the very, very, very worst thing that I could imagine.

My first impression of Courtyard Bridal Wear

is the shop itself looks rather tired.

Certainly for a wedding dress shop

that window display is all-important.

That is how the world sees them

and that is what's going to convince people to come through that door.

ALL: Hello.

How are you? Anne, it must be.

-That's right. Welcome to Courtyard Bridal Wear.

-Thank you very much.

I've had a little walk past the shop, gone over my first impressions.

How many styles do you stock here?

Do you keep close track of that kind of thing?

Um...

No.

Well, we do, but we don't have sort of a written down record,

if that makes sense.

-OK, so that's an immediate flaw that we can identify.

-We know that.

-There's no point knowing it and not doing anything about it.

-No.

-It's worse to know that's a flaw and not to do anything about it.

-OK.

People are street-wise or whatever. I'm not business-wise.

I haven't been able to teach them how to be business-wise.

-So, we just focus on the brides...

-Yeah.

..and then everything else tends to get put to one side

-until we sort of get sorted out.

-That is also a bit of a failing,

because there's no point having customers unless one's making lots of money out of them.

-And we're not.

-No.

First impressions are one thing

but I really need to see this place in action.

So, I have a surprise in store.

So, I shall summon the brides!

Ladies, come in, come in!

Buying a wedding dress is a big and emotional purchase,

and customer service is crucial.

So, I've arranged for four brides-to-be to put the shop

and the family through their paces.

-Where is your wedding?

-Ibiza.

-What time of the year is it?

-September next year.

-OK.

-So, I'm actually looking for two dresses.

-So, you're having a proper English wedding.

-Yeah.

-Lovely.

-And I want to hide my tattoos, obviously.

-OK.

They have very different ways of doing things.

-You look like you like taffeta.

-OK!

Anne has the spiel down to a fantastic degree.

Did you want to take the short one down as well?

To try the short one on? Yeah, that's fine, no problem.

-Rhiannon's quite brash and bold.

-Right, are you ready? I'm coming in!

Bethan's not quite so confident, it seems to me, in herself,

and in the way she talks about things.

Have you seen anything that sort of caught your eye in the magazines,

like shapes of dresses, or lace, or...?

Not really. But only because I'm quite open-minded.

Customer service is OK, but despite all the stock,

my brides can't seem to find what they were looking for.

-Yeah?

-Thank you.

-OK.

-There's quite a lot of dresses here.

They look to me as if they're very much in the same style,

so I'm interested whether that is because this is their market

and they know their market,

or just because they have lost their way a little bit in the buying.

Look at this!

What did you think?

There's nothing, probably in here, that would suit what I'm after.

The very same strapless and big dresses, which, to me,

is completely what I don't want, so...but it was a nice experience.

I'm dying to see this on.

'I would have liked to have seen something a bit more simple.'

I think a lot of the dresses are very blingy, very fussy,

lots of ruffles and diamonds, and that's not what I'm looking for.

I wanted something a bit more plain and elegant.

-I'm ready for you, if you're ready for me!

-Wrong stock is a big problem.

But there's worse to come.

-What's your average spend here?

-People would come in and say, oh, I've budgeted for £1,000,

but we have found that lately, that has gone down quite considerably.

I actually think it's immoral to show a girl a £1,500 dress

when she can only afford a £500 one.

Oh, my goodness, darling, wakey wakey!

A girl has a way of getting what she wants for her wedding day.

If you can persuade them to spend a little bit more money, you should.

-How strict is your budget?

-I'd say it's not very strict!

I would tend to agree with you, darling!

I'm sure my partner thinks differently!

Anne's reluctance to push sales is a concern,

but so too is the sheer amount of stock.

-Look at this!

-We call her cupcake.

They all have names, all nicknames, and we always call them shes or hers.

I don't know why, it's a bit like a boat.

Courtyard Bridalwear stocks 150 dress styles,

whereas similar stores will only stock half that.

-So, this is the Courtyard.

-Where's your office?

This is my office!

Lordy, lordy me!

THEY LAUGH

As shocking as I find the obvious lack of importance Anne places on running her business,

it doesn't compare to what I find in a back room.

-All this is what we'd call dead stock?

-Yes.

So, things that have either been discontinued,

-have been on sale and haven't sold?

-Mm-hm.

What proportion of the dresses that are actually in your shop

at the moment will end up on the remainder rail...

-..would you say?

-90%.

Oh, my God!

Let's say the dresses average, to be generous, £500 a dress.

That's £75,000-worth of stock you have there,

let's say of which 65 grand's worth will end up...

So, I mean, it does concentrate the mind,

because actually, the margins you are making per dress are very good,

but not considering the degree of wastage that there is.

OK.

With so much of their money tied up in dead stock,

Anne not paying herself a wage and with her home now on the line, it's a bleak picture.

I'd like to have a clear idea of what roles are within the business.

I mean, you're very obviously the boss.

-They both still kind of look to you.

-Yes, I'm still Mum.

I keep saying, well, you look after this and you look after this.

And then they fall out.

And then at the end of the day, I just go and do it myself anyway.

Do you think the fact that not enough attention is being paid

to the business side of this business,

do you think that's lack of will or inability?

To a degree, inability, because I've been learning as I went along.

If I said to you off the top of your head, what was your turnover last year?

Do you know your profit margin?

No.

I'll be honest,

I don't know half of what things mean on the balance sheet.

Well, you know...

I know when it says 5,000 at the bottom, that's what I pay my tax on.

-Yeah. That's your profit, darling.

-OK.

That's pretty poor,

especially as you've committed yourself...

You've remortgaged your house.

You're not paying yourself.

The picture would be much worse if we put in even a nominal sum for your work.

-Yeah?

-Yeah. I don't know if it's ever going to get better.

Of course it will!

If you really thought that, you wouldn't have asked me in!

You must see some hope. Otherwise, let's not bother with this, then! You know!

Who are you doing this for?

If you're doing it for your daughters then they have to bloody pick up the slack!

I have two months to revamp and relaunch this company.

But it's not going to be easy.

Ultimately, Courtyard Bridalwear's figures show that they would be

better off just closing the business,

which is a very hard fact to face

after all the hard work that Anne's put into the business.

This is something that I now have to convey to her children

and, you know, it's time that they WERE made aware of these facts.

So, let's cut to the chase straight away.

This, I presume, is a document that both of you will be familiar with,

the unaudited financial statements of the year ended 31st of March 2010.

-No.

-It would be the first time we've probably seen it.

Let me just give you some highlights, shall I?

Last year, on 190,000,

you made a 3% profit,

which is just over five grand.

This is without your mother being paid. What's the point of going on?

Because she would be better off if the business closed.

She's remortgaged her house. There aren't any financial gains at all.

So, what's the point of her flogging herself to death

if there's going to be no light at the end of the tunnel?

I suppose it's never been put so bluntly.

What do you want out of it? What's the point of this for you?

Why do you want to be involved in this business?

Because I think everybody's put much effort into it.

Mum's put a lot of financial, obviously, into it, financially.

And, you know, I think we all care for it.

I think it would be sad to say, it's all just gone. You know.

Nine years of our lives. Just wasted.

I don't know if I love the business or I love Mum,

and I want to help her.

-You know, we're fighting for survival.

-Yeah.

We've got to start boxing a bit cleverer.

'We definitely were burying our heads in the sand.'

I think in some ways maybe out of naivety.

Deep down inside, I suppose, we knew how the business was performing.

But to actually have it said in black and white,

I think it hits home.

A lot.

And you do realise that we are in desperate need of help, really.

After that reality check, we need to start from the bottom up

and remind the family exactly how an enterprise like this works!

You buy something, you add value to it and you sell it at a profit.

I've brought them to Northampton market, away from the claustrophobia

of the bridalwear shop to reconnect with that simple truth.

I have a van full of fresh flowers for you.

-And there's about £300-worth of stock here.

-OK.

OK? So, it's very simple.

I just want to see you set up and run this market stall.

They are not carnations. I thought they were.

-£4.50?

-Yeah, and then...

-£4.75, just to bring it under...

-£4.75, £4.50.

-Yeah.

Incomings and outgoings must balance for a business to be viable,

I'm hoping that even though they seem incapable

of appreciating that on a spreadsheet, they might be able to get to grips with it

when they have actual cash in an actual till.

-Sorry.

-I'll just get your change for you.

-There you are.

-Thank you.

-Have a lovely day.

Their lack of business skills is one thing,

but there's a more fundamental problem emerging.

How about some pinks and some gypsophila?

-A little granny basket.

-I'll do a basket.

-Yeah.

The more I see of their relationships,

the more they seem like a mum and two daughters rather than business partners.

Keeping personal relationships professional was something

I had to be aware of when I began working with my family 14 years ago.

I would like to say to you something that I've noticed.

You talk to your daughters as if they're babies.

I don't blame your mother, actually,

because I think mothers' instincts are to go on treating their children

like they're children for ever, but at a certain point, girls, come on!

I'm sure that in your real lives as a wife and a mother

and as a wife, people don't kind of go, "And how are you today?"

-THEY LAUGH

-OK?

But I want to say to you, I've worked with my family,

my uncle and my mum, very closely and I think the only reason I survived that experience,

which can be very, very bruising, is that she knows that I'm a woman to be reckoned with.

And so even though we disagree and she criticised me massively

and I've had had massive fallings out, we met and we disagreed as equals.

-You do have to understand that you're not just your mother's daughters.

-No.

You're women and you have to... you know, you have to show

-that you have something to bring to the party.

-Yeah.

-OK?

-Yeah.

Two bunches of roses for £9.

Nice bunch of red roses to give somebody special for £5.

They managed to make a small profit today, but it's the relationship

between the three of them that will really hamper the business.

Not only is the mother-daughter relationship troubled,

the two sisters also constantly bicker.

I do resent my sister. In my head, she thinks of herself first

and doesn't think of the business or Mum or me.

The rift between them is, I feel, the fact that one has children

and one doesn't.

Um, sometimes I don't think Bethan quite understands how tiring it is.

But then I suppose she thinks, "Well, you made that decision to have them,

"so you've just got to deal with it."

I feel guilty for having children,

but I shouldn't really feel guilty because they're my children.

When you do have a babysitter, you still come at the end, when we've all set up and everything,

then you have to go home quicker, and then you don't have to do any of the...

the beginning or the end which is the hardest time.

But it's because I can't get babysitters. I can't necessarily rely on some family to babysit.

It was the same before you had children.

-No, it wasn't.

-Yeah, it was.

-No, it wasn't!

I feel like I've kind of let everybody down...

Sorry.

I need to keep the momentum going if this business is to turn around.

So, the following week, I'm back in Kettering.

On average brides are prepared to travel two hours to find their perfect dress.

So with the shop slap bang in the centre of the country,

their potential market in the Midlands is huge.

What does this window display say to you?

-I think it needs something bigger.

-Yeah.

Something that's "wow".

Excuse me...

'But if the shop isn't enticing, they're unlikely to get anyone travelling more than ten minutes

'to buy a dress.' You like it, you're kind of...

Yeah, no, I don't know.

Too much going on.

If I was a bride-to-be, I wouldn't know where to start.

It's a bit, um, shoved in, if you like, but you just don't see the full design of them.

It just looks like a cheapy shop where they just put everything on.

Do you find this tempting?

-No.

-Why?

It looks like their old dinner table and they've stuck a few shoes on it.

So, the shop isn't shouting quality to locals in Kettering,

but I want a professional opinion.

Karl McKeever is a retail design expert who's worked with

many of the biggest high street names, like M&S and Sainsbury's.

-Karl.

-Hi, Alex.

-How are you?

-Very well.

Thanks so much for coming. I want to know your first impressions.

I think from the outside, the windows are a bit sad, a little tired.

There's a lot that could be done to give them greater focus

and they'll look a lot more special and more professional.

So, you want one absolutely fantastic dress displayed to its absolute best.

As you walk in, the first thing that hits you is...this.

Yes, actually, what you should see in this main sight line is a really fantastic display.

So, moving the service desk to a different part of the store would be a recommendation.

This is the kind of the dwell space, it's where you first orientate.

-You come in and you get an immediate feel for what the business is all about.

-Yeah.

You need to hook people as soon as they come in.

Absolutely. Quite simply, this is not an environment where you need

a kind of pile 'em high, sell it cheap approach.

-Are we in a bridal shop or are we in a drycleaners?

-Yeah.

And into the main body of the shop.

First impressions is, it's a bit of a kind of a mish-mash,

and there's lots of different things going on.

The shop fittings are very mixed up, there's classical, modern,

country, everything goes, and the lighting is quite poor.

Thinking like a customer, you probably want to feel incredibly special

and probably a little bit girly too.

So, something which is romantic, sophisticated, very indulgent

is really what you should expect to find.

And this is why something like a pine table really doesn't cut it.

Happy shoppers buy more, so they have everything to get right.

An overhaul on this scale will take a lot of work...

from a united team.

-Maybe that one's been done.

-We need to go and check, then.

All right, we will go and check.

And yet tensions continue in the shop.

No, but at the end of the day, you promise too much.

At the end of the day, yes, I do.

And you don't think about everything. You just say, "Yeah, yeah, I can do it,"

and sometimes you just can't, can you?

And you have to say, "No, I can't do it."

No, all right, thank you for that reproach.

I will take it on board after we... now I know you're an adult.

Cos this is... No, but this why Bethan and I get annoyed with you.

OK, I can understand why you get annoyed with me.

Because you procrastinate too much. I know that you have a lot of work in the shop.

-That's what we're trying to...

-What do you mean by procrastination?

Go on, tell me. "You procrastinate too much" - what do you mean?

Well, what do you mean?

-What do I mean?

-Yes, what do you mean?

-You put things off.

-Yeah, what do I put them off for?

-Sitting down for an hour every now and again.

-OK!

You sit down and you have nice times.

I go home on a Friday night and I sew, ready for fittings on a Saturday.

I have to cover everybody in the shop.

Oh, yeah, everybody else gets a Saturday off, who doesn't?

Mum hasn't had one off apart from that wedding we all went to since January.

OK, why don't you take a chill pill or you'll have a stroke.

Oh, if I have a stroke, at least I'll get a rest in bed.

Let's go and get this bride fitted, it's nearly 11 o'clock.

'I'd like to have a little bit of time to enjoy, and a little bit of money to enjoy it with.'

You're not here for ever.

And I don't want to be stuck like this for ever, doing the same thing,

just working and working and working and not getting anything out of it.

There's clearly a real need to make this business successful for everyone's sake.

I'm keen to turn our attention to the shop

and start putting Karl's thoughts into action.

I think that visually, this shop is cram-packed.

I don't think things are displayed particularly brilliantly.

I would agree with you on that.

Um, and I think you walk in and you think, bloody hell, where do I begin?

Somehow this isn't aspirational enough, so we need to make this

a kind of...just a bit more special as a shopping experience.

Right, if we pick out the ones that have definitely never sold.

And the way they can make it more special

is by culling the dresses that are clogging up the rails.

-That one can go, that one can go...

-We never sold that one.

I've asked them to ditch all duplicates

and any dresses that haven't sold for years.

This dead stock then needs to be sold

so Anne and the girls can plough the money back into the business.

They need to go, would you agree?

Yeah.

I'm not quite sure who to blame for this ridiculous mess.

What they seem to have forgotten is that sample dresses

are only useful for them if they generate a future income,

which some of these dresses are signally failing to do.

This one, she's been on the shelf for about a year and a half.

And we've never sold one, never had one person in it, so it can go.

Get rid of that one.

-It's embarrassing, I think, having had that many dresses on the shelves...

-Yeah.

..and not having sold them.

Makes me think that maybe we're not very good at buying

and maybe we should really look at how we do it.

We might end up selling more by having less,

which does sound a bit backwards, but I think it will rejuvenate us

and rejuvenate the shop

and hopefully give us a bit more passion about it.

In order to cull their stock, they need to organise

and then promote their dress sale.

I'm meeting the family in these beautiful surroundings

so that we can produce some marketing photos.

I've arranged for them to meet here with a model,

a make-up artist, a photographer and a graphic designer.

They need to design a leaflet that will advertise

this forthcoming sale and try and work out a strategy of how and where they're going to do it.

I'd like them between themselves to decide who has to do what.

Shall we do locations first?

Um...

Why don't you, not all three of you, go and do exactly the same things together?

So you don't waste time, one of you look at locations, one of you go and look at the model,

one person start writing down a few blinking ideas about where to do this sample sale.

You could all come back in half an hour and present each other with some suggestions.

-Yeah, sounds good.

-Yeah.

Anne decides to find a venue for the sale.

Bethan will dress the model, and Rhiannon will find suitable locations to take the photos,

but can the girls stick to their allotted roles?

The only problem is, though,

is dress defines... well, location defines dress.

True.

But at the same time, dress defines location, really.

-I know, so we need both, really.

-Well, do you want me to go and have a quick look?

Yeah.

We're trying to do a really good sale.

Do you have anywhere, possibly since you're a letting agency,

ah, that might do such a thing?

The top's a bit flat, I think not you, the dress.

I think I've seen better.

So, this, probably, is the best area.

Well, Rhiannon, what about that little staircase cos you've got the arch?

I don't think they're working very efficiently together.

-Do you want to look at the bottom of the staircase?

-Yeah.

And look which way? What, from there? That's really boring.

-We've got a limited amount of time.

-That doesn't work, does it?

Not really, no.

And I kind of think they're running round in ever decreasing circles.

Maybe we should change that idea.

At the moment, we have a graphic designer and a photographer who are sitting around doing nothing.

Once they're getting on with it, you've chosen the dress and everything,

-you don't need to faff about doing that, do you?

-Yes.

-Yeah?

Finally, with a bit of help from the professionals, they're starting to make decisions.

Do you think the courtyard might be better than the...?

I think the courtyard will be superb for shots. I think the textures...

Now they need to keep being decisive.

Come on, then, out, out, out! 'Or I'll have to be decisive for them.'

-Right, we're going round this way.

-OK.

-We're going to the front of the hotel.

I think Alex is a little bit annoyed with us,

because I'm not taking charge and I don't really know what I'm doing

and I'm like a flapping chicken.

I really want the family to run with this task on their own, but it's not easy.

I'm finding incredibly hard not to get involved,

not to get stuck in.

I know it's not my place to do it and I've just got to stand back

but God knows that is not my natural inclination, ha.

She's got a leaf on her dress.

Can I get the leaf? I'm so sorry.

Angle down the flowers down a bit.

Yes, that's better.

You know, we can't waste an opportunity like this.

Why are they not doing it here? It's just the perfect place.

Why aren't we doing it over here?

We are coming over there!

Despite all the disorganisation and indecision

the girls have somehow muddled through the whole process

and finally managed to produce some half-decent publicity material.

Inevitably, three women, three close family members, there's a certain amount of procrastination

-cos there's a certain amount of chat.

-Definitely.

I think it's quite good to be forced to throw yourself headlong into a situation,

-to rise to the occasion.

-Hm.

And, um, I think to come up with something like that in a mere four hours

is, um, is something that you ought to take away and learn from.

A week and a half later and it's the day of the dead stock sale.

-Mum, have you done the cash?

-No! I've been busy.

Despite having worked well at the photoshoot,

with the pressure staring to tell, they're reverting to their bickering ways.

Rhiannon knows I haven't had time to do anything about the cash tin,

she says, "Have you done the cash yet?"

There's a lot riding on this sale.

It's a chance to get rid of the dresses that are clogging up their shop.

I'm worried about how many people are going to turn up,

I'm worried that nobody will turn up and we won't sell anything.

It will be very, very depressing if we go with 150 dresses

and we come back with 140 dresses.

I think we'll just feel like it's been a disaster.

They need to recoup as much cash as they can to upgrade the shop.

To cover our costs, I worked out we need to sell seven.

Best-case scenario is we don't have to pack anything up and go home, yes!

There's really expensive dresses here that are worth sort of £2,000

and we're selling them for £149.99,

so people are getting a great bargain if they turn up and buy them.

Um, I'm quite pleased with the way we look, I think it looks OK

for a really cheap sale.

Just got to hope that people come now.

As soon as the doors open, the brides flood in.

You take up this bit from here.

I just want to get that first £150 in the tin,

that's all I want to do and I'm sitting here saying,

"Please somebody buy something!"

Oh, I like that.

Try those two on first, and then we'll come back for this one.

That's lovely. Well, thank you very much,

and may you have the most wonderful wedding day when it comes.

One down, about 149 to go.

As the morning wears on, business is brisk.

Um, busy, yeah.

It's nicely busy, though, so it's kind of steady busy,

which is always better than completely manic.

So, it's quite nice to be busy rather than standing around twiddling our thumbs.

160.

I love this taking money thing!

Thank you.

One more and we've paid for the sale,

so anything after that will be ours, so that'll be good.

So, only another four and half hours to go.

Just as they start to cover their costs, sales slow right down.

Here we are standing round at, oh,

three o'clock and we've got another two hours to go and we haven't seen a customer since one.

That, to me, is a failure.

I said this morning first thing that I wanted to sell them all,

and really on a scale of one to 150,

11's not that good.

The most depressing thing is looking at all these dresses

that now we have to bag up,

put back in the van,

and go home.

It's days like this when you think, why are you doing it?

Cos it's so much energy

and not just mentally but physically, these aren't light,

um, and you just think, what's the point?

With time running out until we relaunch this business,

there are still so many hurdles to face.

But I can't let their disappointment derail them now.

-I felt it was a bit disastrous.

-Why? You made money.

-We did make money.

-Yes, but it was an awful lot of work to make that small amount of money.

I think that you are approaching this in the wrong light, seriously.

I mean, every single person who came in bought a dress.

-I mean, that is an amazing hit rate.

-Yeah.

And I think what you need to always do

is step back from every situation

and think about it in purely business terms.

Yes, you bust a gut to do it, that's the negative, the plus side is

you're 600 quid up even after all your much exaggerated expenses,

which is, after all, the cost of two wedding dresses that you've managed to get back.

At the end of the day, you cannot stop fighting, you have to keep pushing the envelope,

you have to keep thinking of something new, fresh,

you have to push your own boundaries.

At the moment I'm doing the pushing. Once I'm gone, you'll have to do that for each other.

Yeah, definitely.

The hard truth is, though, that they need to sell those old dresses

at some point to get the cash to overhaul their shop.

-Ooh, love that.

-That's nice.

-They're more girly, more elegant.

In the meantime, they need to get on with rethinking the shop's image.

To concentrate the mind, I've asked them to make a mood board.

-Grandeur, grandeur, how do you spell grandeur?

-Can I underline it?

No, I think that'll be tacky.

Grandeur.

I think it should be...

No.

Having a strong image and brand is really important

in making your shop stand out from the pack,

but how far should this rebrand go?

I'm going to Brown's Hotel in central London to meet up with

a woman with impressive business instincts, my mother.

My family have owned and run the Forte Hotels Group since the 1950s.

We've rebranded the company several times over the years.

You've been through the kind of branding, rebranding process

quite a few times, with the old company and with this one.

What do you think you need to keep in mind?

I think you can't drastically rebrand,

because people know your name, they know what you're doing,

and if you sort of start putting something new forward

they think, "Is it a new company?

"What's it all about?"

I mean, we went from RF Hotels to Rocco Forte Hotels.

But the elements have still stayed there.

I'm asking you specifically cos I'm looking at this bridal shop,

called Courtyard Bridalwear. I think that's a not particularly attractive name.

-Bit of a mouthful.

-Bit of a mouthful and it's not terribly chic.

Yes, I mean, I think you can subtly rebrand,

and it's not a bad idea if you're not 100% happy with a name,

but it's got to have a sound of the old name or something,

so somehow or other, your rebranding still has to take in...

-Elements of the old...

-Elements of the old.

-..of the old brand.

With that advice in mind, I'm taking the girls

and their mood board to see an expert.

It's Courtyard Bridalwear.

Firedog have developed branding for big name companies

as diverse as Deutsche Bank and La Strada restaurant chain.

What can they do for our girls?

So, Bethan, Rhiannon and Anne, this is Cliff.

-Hi, good to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

So, let's see what you've got.

-Please don't laugh.

-Yes.

-Oh.

-Don't laugh.

-I don't mean to laugh.

We people to come into the shop and say wow - I know that's really a cliche

but we want brides to feel like they're escaping their normal world

-into like a...

-Fantasy world.

-Yeah, that's really cheesy.

What is it on that board that you feel is bringing something new?

Well, I know what you do well,

but it's nowhere represented on that board,

which is you give excellent personalised service

across the board, every single member.

So, I would suggest considering bridal boutique, because a boutique is a lot more service led.

Changing from bridalwear, which is what you would associate with underwear, to something boutiquey...

You know, underwear, it's a bit pedestrian,

-compared to boutique which is, you know, ooh...

-Upmarket.

Upmarket, sophisticated.

So, what we've done,

which is a bit of a presumption here, we've completely rebranded you.

But this is... The idea is that you could put this against a blue background,

put it against a piece of lace.

It would be absolutely a fantastic thing to be able to rebrand everything - however, I think

that at the moment the cost is going to be prohibitive.

I think, darling, the important thing, as with all these things, is not to bury one's head in the sand,

it's not to pretend that there's not a problem,

and you work out at what point in your business strategy you're going to have to address this.

It has to be addressed, and it certainly brought us up short to that point.

When they get back to Kettering, there is some good news at last.

Anne has found a buyer for her dead stock,

a discount bridal outlet

who've bought the lot for a few thousand pounds.

We're photographing the dresses,

so we remember why they didn't necessarily sell.

Now they'll be able to make the changes the shop is crying out for.

Just tell Mum to bring the dress over here,

if you don't want to deal with it.

You're making a mountain out of a little molehill.

-I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?

-A little bit.

If, that is, they could stop arguing for long enough.

Wouldn't you get annoyed in the same situation or not,

when you've had to deal with an aggravated customer for, like, 20 minutes,

you put a solution in place and then it gets arranged differently.

Yeah, but at the end of the day, what's done is done,

and you just have to get on with it.

-Fine, I'll deal with her, then.

-Fine.

I think this constant sniping

is because the girls don't have clearly defined roles.

I want to hear from them

what they think they bring to this business,

and how serious they are about its future.

I thought it might be a good idea

to get the girls to interview for the positions they already have.

I don't expect to walk away from here thinking that everything is resolved for ever.

What I would like to teach them

is a way to deal with each other that is professional

and that doesn't revert back again and again to that family bickering.

So, shall I start asking questions or do you have something to show me?

Um, I'm obviously Bethan McCall, 28,

and I believe that I have an eclectic skill set

that will be able to fulfil this role in a good way.

I feel I can communicate very effectively,

I communicate on a daily basis with the brides,

I feel I have good selling skills

and I think that's very much part of communication.

I've got a B in GCSE Mathematics,

which I know is very basic but that's where it all starts,

we all have to count.

I also feel that I am quite creative,

I've always enjoyed art, singing,

and I've always been more of a... a fluffy creative person

rather than very much a sort of logical head.

So, do you think you could work with the other members of the team?

Yes, of course I can work with Rhiannon.

There's only three of us,

of course I can work with Rhiannon.

Sometimes we don't always get on but that's the sisters in us,

not the colleagues in us.

Where are those sisters going to live from now on?

At the door, before we come in.

-But so is the mother.

-Yes.

I have not been focused in the past,

I know that I've wanted to leave, do other things,

and I have been analysing my own feelings of why I wanted to do that.

But I believe now I can see clearly the path before me.

I want to work alongside my family in harmony.

Courtyard Bridalwear, I feel, is my chosen career path.

Even though other people could probably do the job much better than me,

I can bring love to the business.

It is a family business, I can give that,

no other person can.

The only thing that concerns me slightly

is that everything that you said you wanted to do was all to help me.

Not much of it was about you.

I want you to get something out of it as well.

It hasn't just got to be about saving Mum.

You have to be part of the team,

not just somebody holding up the rest of us.

I suppose at the end of the day

this was never my dream, it's yours, it was never my dream.

I don't know,

it was never in my career choice,

so everything's to help you.

But then, should it be?

I want you to want the job, I want you to...

I do want the job, just maybe for different reasons.

I want you to really want the job for you,

and to make you better, and to enjoy your life.

The thing that came up most

was how one is much more enthusiastic about the business,

and the other one seemed to be much more about...

You.

-Helping me.

-Yeah.

Um, and I think that that was quite emotional.

I told Mum that I do...

I don't do the job for me, I do it for Mum.

-Really?

-Yeah.

But I love the job, don't get me wrong,

but I don't do it for me, it's not whatever I wanted to do.

Do you think, though, through this process, though,

you will start doing it for all of us and yourself, or not?

I don't know.

I want to make it successful so that I still have a job.

So, as long as you know my heart's in it.

Yeah, and so is mine, just for different reasons to you.

That's fine, we can have different reasons.

-Yeah, as long as we have the same goal.

-Mm.

-So, good.

-OK.

-BOTH:

-Do love you.

Ah, you freak!

I think the refit is going to change the way that everybody perceives things.

Oh, my God, is that the sign?

I think the perception of the shop as a whole

is going to be more upmarket and a bit more modern.

It's the rebirth of our business, I suppose -

out with the old and in with the new.

Once people see that as the look of the shop, they will see that as also the dresses.

The girls can now re-evaluate the kind of dresses to buy

to suit the new image of their business.

We've made the decision that we are now no longer stocking anything under £700.

The lower price dresses we were actually almost paying to sell the dress.

They've also taken steps to get a better grip on the business finances.

When they say to you, you need to make 10% more profit,

it's not magic.

I now know the difference between gross profit and net profit.

Now they just need to finish fitting out the shop before they reopen, tomorrow.

-Oh, shit.

-Do you want me to help you with that or are you all right?

BLEEP. BLEEP.

-Rhiannon!

-I'm sorry.

Well, even so, you don't need to swear.

There's only one pin and it won't go in.

Stress levels are a little bit higher than perhaps normal.

I'm going to have to take it easy, my back just tweaked.

-Oh, no. Oh, God.

-No, I'm all right, I'm all right, I'm all right,

I'm just warning you I can't do much, that's all.

Has anyone got any sweets or anything? I'm so lacking in sugar.

You've got to be careful of it because if your back goes right now, if would absolutely do the family in.

Yeah, I think she's... (a little bit stressed.)

Just a little bit.

I just...

Stressed is like, "Oh, I feel a little stressed out."

I feel much more than just a little stressed out, I really feel...

beyond stressed out.

Don't you look at me like that.

That's the sort of attitude you and Bethan both have,

roll your eyes, shake your head,

mother'll just go away, won't she?

I think saying that I feel stressed is an understatement.

There's no way we're going to open tomorrow, absolutely no way.

And yet the very next morning, Courtyard Bridalwear is transformed.

Wow.

That is a really fun window display.

If people don't stop and look at that, I'll be very surprised.

It's kind of provocative and witty and charming.

It shows that there's been a brain at work here.

The window display is the best form of advertising that any shopkeeper has,

and they're certainly winning with this one.

What a difference!

I'm thrilled and amazed.

The pink and the grey as discussed works brilliantly.

You know, it's really fresh and inviting.

-And girly.

-And feminine.

Carl hated the desk,

the cash register and everything being there,

and now that it's gone, I really see what he meant.

I love your labels on the dresses, I mean, they look fab.

-We got quite excited when they went on.

-That looks so chic!

-Yeah.

Somehow, everything feels more precious.

As a potential customer, I have to say

this is just somewhere you'd want to buy a dress,

it's somewhere you'd want to come to.

This is definitely a destination shop now.

I think that this really shows that we have changed

and that we have to change to keep up with the shop.

I mean, my feeling is that we're no longer a family business.

I hope we're going to be a business family, which I think...

Ooh, I like it.

..trying to turn it round so that we're a bit more business-minded.

But there's no point in having a fabulous shop if nobody knows it's there.

So finally, we need to put the new look

Courtyard Bridal Boutique on the map.

I know you are all exhausted and you've done a lot in these last weeks,

but I have one last thing that we have to do

to make sure that by the time I leave you, I'll have put you on a more stable footing, and that is

we need to do an event that gets a lot of attention

to make sure that we really launch the shop,

the refitted, revitalised shop, on a really solid basis.

OK.

Something quite quirky, quite fun, to show people that you're here,

that you're not stultified, stuck in your ways,

that you're constantly reinventing yourselves,

you have a new lease of energy,

that, you know, out with the old, in with the new.

-OK.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Is anyone out there getting married or knows someone who is?

Does anyone know anyone?

That's what I've put, does anyone know anyone...?

Bravely, the event they settle on to relaunch the business is to offer nine former customers

the opportunity to renew their vows

in a brand-new dress from the boutique's latest collection,

in front of family and friends.

We need brides-to-be who have never...

We need brides-to-be who have never been into Courtyard Bridal Boutique to come to our relaunch event.

It'll be a great night to see our old brides renewing their vows

and then have bubbly and nibblies at a small wedding fayre.

-Nibblies?!

-Nibblies!

Bubblies and nibblies!

Oh, hi, it's Rhiannon calling from Courtyard Bridal Boutique.

The girls are also inviting local press and potential new customers.

What's been happening, what's been going on?

-Well, we've been busy.

-Yes.

Rhiannon and I took on most of it

primarily just to give Mum a little bit of a relax

and to catch back up with all the alterations and everything,

so Rhiannon did quite a bit,

she did most of the initial supplier talking to and everything

and talking to the church.

I rang quite a few of our older brides from sort of three to six years plus.

The first one I spoke to, unfortunately, wasn't married any more.

so I did get on the wrong... the first person I rang.

-But she found it so hilarious, she came in and talked to us for half an hour, so...

-Oh, good.

And she said she'll come back to us if she gets married again,

so that's always good.

Oh, you look lovely.

And before you know it, the event is upon us.

The brides are starting to arrive, and this is the key time now.

We need to make sure that all those brides get ready, they're taken to the church on time.

We're doing two at a time. Make yourself look lovely.

They're fine, they're having a drink, having chats, enjoying themselves.

It's a bit too early to tell how it's going, really. We shall see.

I suppose it is going to be frightening with the press looking at the dresses.

Look at this, the back and the flowers and the detailing. It's lovely, darling.

At the end of the day,

we've done our best, the girls are happy and they look beautiful,

and that's all that matters.

Oh, my. You look lovely, darling.

Well, I was really excited about renewing my vows.

I just hope my husband doesn't look quite as scared as he did last time.

My mum's no longer here so my dad was just so proud

when I said I'm going to get a blessing in a church.

I also thought it was a nice way to support their business,

and what they've done here is amazing.

Right, ladies, you all look gorgeous. Thank you so much for coming.

Let's go and renew your vows.

The congregation of press and brides-to-be

are getting a great look at the new stock,

and who doesn't love a wedding?

God is love, and those who live in love live with God.

That each marriage promise renewed here today

will be a faithful sign of your love in the world,

and as the years go by

bring them ever closer to each other and to you,

for Jesus Christ's sake, Amen.

APPLAUSE

It seems strange giving them permission, but you may kiss your wives!

Now they've had a chance for a good weep,

the girls must wipe their eyes and get back to the business of business.

Do you like any of the dresses you saw today?

I saw a couple that were really lovely.

-Which one did you like?

-There was that really nice lace one.

If you like lace, we can find some very nice ones for you. See you on Saturday.

As well as brides, the event has also caught the attention

of Belinda Hanks, a journalist from a big bridal website.

There was a vast range of dresses today.

There was the modern, classic, lots of lace,

lots of detail, lots of different necklines.

everything that you'd imagine that's available today for the modern bride,

so that's certainly a thumbs up to the shop itself.

-Have you made an appointment already?

-Yes.

-When is it for?

-For next Friday.

-Next Friday.

We'll definitely be featuring them on the site

and hopefully giving them some celebratory editorial on the site as well.

So, with appointments being made and articles being written,

I think we can call that a success.

I would recommend Courtyard Bridal definitely to anybody.

They look after you, they're a family,

and they've made us feel like part of their family now.

Tell me what's in your future.

I, in the future, I'm going to look upon my daughters as young women,

independent, but both very competent,

and they've shown me that, that they can both actually do the job.

And one of the first things

that I'm going to be looking forward to doing

is making a formal partnership between the three of us.

Oh, that would be good.

-I feel slightly tearful.

-We couldn't have done it without you.

It's been an absolute pleasure, pleasure, pleasure, pleasure

to work with you all, I've enjoyed every single minute.

-Bye, darling.

-Bye.

When I first came here, the thing that I was most nervous about

was that Anne, Bethan and Rhiannon really struggled as a family in business together.

What I'm most proud of now is that they've resolved their differences as a family,

and that has transferred into their business life,

and ultimately, that gives me great confidence in the future of this business.

It's been four months since Courtyard Bridal Boutique relaunched.

I got really close to the family in that time,

and the shop has gone from strength to strength.

You can arrange that side, if you like, I've dusted over there.

-It's been a huge improvement to us, hasn't it?

-Yeah.

Business-wise we're very much more focused on finances.

Now they sell a dress to more than half the women

who request an appointment,

and profits are up 50%.

We're working much better together,

and home is now separate from work.

As far as the shop's concerned, you're the accountant lady now

so you know all the figures and things, I leave that to her,

and Rhiannon's working on marketing and things and how to get people in,

and so everybody's sort of, like, sticking to their roles.

Cos I used to say, "Oh, it's Mum's shop,

"I help Mum out on a three days a week," whereas now I feel like,

no, actually, I am a viable member of the team and we are all partners.

-We're definitely I would say running the business at the front, um...

-At the sharp end.

Yes, basically,

and I think there is a possibility that Mum will retire

and Bethan and I might actually take it on together.

-I think it's definitely changed our lives.

-Definitely.

-Yeah.

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