Bittersweet Transition
Corporate buyout changes the role of bridal designer
BYLINE: A. SCOTT WALTON
DATE: April 10, 2006
PUBLICATION: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The (GA)
EDITION: Main; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
SECTION: Living
PAGE: C1
Five minutes after making a solemn vow not to cry, she broke it.
Seated in the richly appointed parlor of the Buckhead bridal boutique she built with blood, sweat and tears, Melissa Sweet had to face facts.
At 33, she was no longer an independent force in the $2 billion wedding gown market.
Gone were the days when she could draw design inspiration from such random sources as hand-embroidered Vietnamese purses or the wacky wardrobe of British style arbiter Anna Piaggi.
Soon a crew of construction workers would start dismantling her enterprise. The time for a tearful farewell had arrived.
Melissa Sweet Bridal has been bought out.
The May Department Store Co. -- a bridal behemoth -- quietly acquired the 10-year-old brand from Sweet, appointing her design chief over Priscilla of Boston, the company's other prestige label.
The contents of her boutique, across from Lenox Square mall, will be deposited at the chic Priscilla of Boston shop a few congested blocks south on Peachtree. It's one of 10 stores nationwide that will adopt her store's aesthetic.
While terms of the buyout were not disclosed, Women's Wear Daily reports that Sweet is expected to generate $10 million to $12 million in sales this year.
By all appearances, it's a sweetheart deal. But on a rare visit to Atlanta, Sweet wasn't exactly jumping for joy.
Reflecting on the decade she'd spent building her brand -- and then turning over the reins -- Sweet swore not to cry, but failed.
"Not many people know this," she said, "but when [she and songwriter husband Addison Palmore] opened our first little shop on Pharr Road, we actually lived in the attic because we couldn't afford rent on a store and an apartment, too."
Tearfully acknowledging all of her supporters, she added, "I didn't do this on my own, by any stretch."
More clout in industry
Since Sweet is now based in New York, Kristen Smith will be one of the last Southern brides to get the designer's personal attention during a fitting.
"This is timeless," said Smith, who flew in from Dallas with four bridesmaids in tow.
Modeling her strapless lace gown for the small audience, Smith mentioned that she might add a silk sash to the waist.
In a muffled whisper, Sweet winced: "Oh, don't do that."
As a result of the buyout, Sweet's voice will carry more weight in the bridal industry, where she'll get to compete with other upscale designers like Vera Wang, Monique Lhuillier, Amsale and Carolina Herrera.
Currently, gowns from Sweet and Priscilla of Boston sell for $4,000 to $6,000 and are available at stores such as Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman.
"She brings a more youthful, fashionable approach, while still keeping true to the traditions of class and sophistication that we stand for," said Robert Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for Priscilla of Boston.
"Our [late] founder, Priscilla Kidder, had her own spirit and energy," he said. "The company needed some new life. And Melissa brings it."
Sweet's designs, which fit snug to the body and afford ample cleavage, could make a smooth transition to the red carpet.
"They don't look like anyone else's," said Modern Bride magazine editor Juli Alvarez. "They're always sweet, if you'll excuse the pun. And they have a flirty quality."
And now Sweet has the means to expand.
"At the end of the day -- as much as I don't want to say it -- it was about the money; and what you can do toward building your brand if you have it," Sweet said.
But the move was not an easy one. May Co. actually began courting Sweet three years ago.
Her first response: "No way."
Reaching more brides
The yearlong acquisition was kept hush-hush; May Co. was in the throes of being acquired by Federated Department Stores in a deal finalized last August.
Along the way, Sweet worried that clients, competitors and potential clients would associate her with the less expensive David's Bridal chain, also owned by May.
"I have nothing to do with [David's Bridal] in any way, shape or form," she said.
To eliminate confusion, Sweet has spent time explaining the divisional distinctions to wholesale clients as well as brides.
But supporters like Rachel Jackson, a referrals manager for theknot.com Web site, doesn't need to hear Sweet's speech. She got married in a Sweet gown five years ago, and has steered dozens of brides her way since then.
"Brides wear her dresses; the dresses don't wear them," Jackson said.
"She's making a move in the right direction because she'll be reaching more brides than ever before."
That type of loyalty was built over a period of decades. Sweet learned to sew at age 7 in her native Lawrenceburg, Ky. Back then, she envisioned herself as a retailer with a store stocked with her own designs.
As a high school graduation gift to herself, Sweet spent a summer at New York's prestigious Parsons School of Design.
"That was it, the final nail in the coffin," she said.
"I had to become a designer. There was no other path. Going to Parsons taught me that I did have some skills, but there were others I needed to refine."
At age 19, Sweet eloped to Florida with Palmore and then relocated to Atlanta, where she began studying fashion design at Bauder College. She also worked as buyer-designer at local bridal shops.
"A lot of people dream of being a designer, but Melissa's one of the few who really did the homework, developed a plan and put it in place," said Mary Justman, an associate dean at Bauder.
"She went from business to business learning the trade, always with the intention of starting her own thing," she said. "Her story is all about having a view, and then putting all the right pieces in place."
Once they'd learned the manufacturing and distribution, Sweet and Palmore ventured out on their own.
Palmore, who is currently not involved in the business, said he understands his wife's mixed feelings about the deal.
"We started the business on a wing and a prayer, and the stars just happened to align the right way," he said. "Those tears come from the fact that it's not her baby anymore. At the same time, she's truly excited about the prospects of reaching her full potential."
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