Bridal shop scandal: outfits to go on sale

BRIDES and grooms are being offered the chance to get their hands on €250,000 of cut-price wedding dresses and suits next week following the collapse of a plush Cork bridal shop.

Liquidators selling off the assets of the Wedding Dress Shop aim to raise up to €70,000 from the sale towards the store’s colossal debt of over €1m.

Last month the Penrose Wharf business suddenly ceased trading, sparking anger among couples who had paid big money for plush dresses and suits from the store.

Now, liquidator Gerard Murphy is staging a four-day sale from 10am on Bank Holiday Monday.

Mr Murphy told the Irish Examiner: “We have to sell off the stock to help pay creditors and we could have done this in two ways.

“We could have either sold it to the trade, so people who wanted wedding wear would not have seen the benefit of it.

“Alternatively, we could sell it at the same trade prices to the public. That’s what we have decided to do.

“This is not Wedding Dress Shop stock that brides and grooms have paid for — it is stock that had not been sold to anyone.”

The sale runs from Monday to Thursday at Cork’s Rochestown Park Hotel from 10am to 7pm. Entry is free.

Money from the sale, which is expected to net €50,000 to €70,000, will go to reimburse preferred creditors like the liquidator and the Department of Employment.

Unsecured creditors, such as brides and grooms who paid deposits by cash or cheque, will receive nothing because of the size of the firm’s liabilities.

Mr Murphy, of Midleton, Co Cork, said: “This sale is one way people can get some benefit back.

“If there’s something here that suits you, you can buy it at a good price.

“Stock will be on sale from a quarter to a third of its retail price.”

Among the bridal wear on sale will be wedding dresses, bridesmaids clothing, evening gowns, shoes and jewellery.

Groom’s clothing includes wedding suits, work suits, shirts, ties, cravats, as well as jewellery, shoes and tie-pins.

Stock from the business premises in Cork as well as its outlet in Kenmare, Co Kerry, will be on sale, and comprises new clothing as well as former hire wear.

The Wedding Dress Shop Ltd, which had been trading for 12 years, was formally placed in liquidation earlier this month after closing its doors in March.