Fall2017Newsletter

2320 Paige

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FALL 2017 ISSUE

THANK YOU, FOR BEING A PART OF CASABLANCA FOR 20 YEARS!

We want to personally thank you for being our brand advocate, and contributing to the success that has led us to celebrating our twentieth year in business.

We are so grateful and blessed for all that has happened in these 20 years of learning, growing and celebrating. As we look back on our achievements, we realize that the underlying theme of it all has been unconditional love. We are passionate about continuing our mission to Celebrate Forever in the next 20 years and beyond! Your loyalty and devotion to our business is, as ever, very appreciated.

Warm Regards,

Mr. Kevin, Ms. Gloria Lu & The Casablanca Family

20 reasons to buy from Casablanca In our 20 years of doing business, we have learned a great deal, allowing us to develop a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Below we highlight 20 reasons to buy from Casablanca Bridal.

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Award Winning Designs Classic, Petite, Modest and Temple Ready Fits Consultant Certification Training Exceptional Quality and Value Exhibitions at Every Market Exquisite Imagery Family Owned Company/ Privately Owned Factory Generous Seasonal Incentives Growing Global Presence Heavy Investment in Marketing In Stock Gowns Industry Leader in Customizations Low Minimums No Discontinuation Payment Dating Plan Rush and Expedited Rush Delivery Seasoned Sales Force Social Media Consultation Services Superior Customer Service Relationship building with Celebrate Forever Foundation

SPRING 2018 MARKET DATES If you are unable to attend one of our private road show markets, not to worry. We will be exhibiting at all the major trade shows for the S18 selling season as well: AT L ANTA W O R L D O F P R O M August 2nd – 6th T H E K N OT C O U T U R E S H O W L AS VE GAS August 27th – 29th T H E O N E B R I D AL M A R K E T D AL L AS September 6th – 9th H A R R O GAT E B R I D AL S H O W September 10th – 12th V O W N E W W O R L D O F B R I D AL AT L ANTA September 12th – 14th N AT I O N AL B R I D AL M A R K E T C H I CAG O September 24th – 27th T H E K N OT C O U T U R E S H O W N E W Y O R K October 7th – 9th

20TH ANNIVERSARY GOWNS Over the years, our competitive advantage of never discontinuing our gowns means that we have had great styles that have stayed at the top of our bestsellers list. We have selected the top twenty of these tried and true gowns, and are offering 20% off any stock pieces. Whether you are missing the style completely or are looking to update your store’s sample, now is a great time to get these hot ticket gowns into your store at a discounted price. Please note that 20% off 20th Anniversary gowns is a separate promotion from your stock order minimum – in other words, these styles cannot count towards your stock order minimum AND also receive a 20% off discount.

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2232 & 2232L

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SPRING 2018 MARKET PROMOTIONS This season, in addition to our Spring 2018 market promotions, we are also running special 20th Anniversary promotions as well. See below a comprehensive list of everything you are eligible for when you place qualifying orders this season.

STOCK ORDER MINIMUMS CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL :

Minimum 8, buy 9 get the 10th free with complete stock order • Free veil package with complete stock order • For free dress, 6 of the 9 must be from S18, the 10th must also be S18 • For free veil package, 6 of the 8 must be from S18 B E LO VE D B Y CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL :

Minimum 7, buy 8 get the 9th free with complete stock order • Free veil package with complete stock order • For free dress, 5 of the 8 must be from S18, the 9th must also be S18 • For free veil package, 5 of the 7 must be from S18 AM A R É C O U T U R E :

Minimum 4

20th Anniversary STOCK ORDER RAFFLE: For complete qualifying stock orders placed at a road show, at market or with your rep as they visit you this season, we will be offering an additional raffle in honor of our 20th anniversary.

Three different stores will be randomly selected to win the full S18 Casablanca Bridal line, full SP18 Beloved by Casablanca Bridal Line, or full SP18 Amare Couture Line.

MARKET RAFFLE: For all collections, when you leave your complete qualifying stock order at market or a road show, you will be entered to win either 1, 2 or 3 free gowns in addition to the stock order.

Winners will be randomly selected after all markets conclude.

S T A R A W A R D S : J U LY 1 S T 2 0 1 7 - J U N E 3 0 T H 2 0 1 8 The more you sell of Casablanca Bridal, the more perks and incentives we give you to help build your business. Take a look at our Star Awards levels, which run July 1st, 2017 through June 30th, 2018. You should be receiving your awards for the July 1st, 2016 through June 30th, 2017 time span. All awarded perks are notated in customer accounts, so if you would like to redeem any of your accrued incentives, be sure to talk to Customer Service.

BENEFITS

DIAMOND $55,000+

PLATINUM $54,999 - $45,000

GOLD $44,999-$30,000

VALUE

$2,000

$1,500

$750

SILVER $29,999-$20,000

$500

TRUNK SHOWS GOL RUSHES MARKETING MATERIAL

OFFER In recognition of our Retailers, Casablanca Bridal is proud to offer our Star Awards Program!

Previously known as the Gem Awards, this recognizes sellers of our Casablanca Bridals brands in a cooperative partnership.

HOW IT WORKS Based on your store’s annual sales volume, you will qualify for one of the above tiers which each have a complimentary package of exciting benefits!

START & END DATES

CONDITIONS

Star Awards are based on shipments between July 1, 2017 & June 30, 2018. At the end of the year, Casablanca Bridal will determine your Star level & offer the package that coincides.

Trunk show & gown on loan request are subject to availability of the requested date & season. Retailers must be in good credit standing.

Accounts must be active & current with stock orders to be eligible. Additional terms & conditions may apply, & are at the discretion of Casablanca Bridals, Incorporated.

OUR RESPONSE TO ALFRED ANGELO’S CLOSURE

You have likely heard the news that bridal manufacturer and retailer Alfred Angelo has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Unfortunately, this has left waves of brides stranded without their orders just before the most important day of their lives.

Casablanca Bridal considers it a privilege to outfit brides with their dream dresses, helping make love stories come true. Therefore, the distress of brides is a concern of ours, and we would like nothing more than to offer our assistance during this stressful time. In order to help stores help brides, we are temporarily offering 30% off for all gowns in our ATS (available to sell) inventory for all three of our collections: Amare Couture, Casablanca Bridal and Beloved by Casablanca Bridal.

The discount will only be applied upon valid submission of a qualifying Alfred Angelo bridal gown receipt. If you would like to order a 30% off dress for an Alfred Angelo bride, please place your order over the phone or via our online ordering system, and then send proof of receipt to orders@casablancabridal.com with the corresponding PO number. Once this information has been verified, the discount will be applied. The discount is available to any domestic or international Casablanca Bridal account, provided they are currently in good standing. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please reach out to vicky@ casablancabridal.com.

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PRECUT GOWNS BEING ADDED TO ATS

With our online Available To Sell inventory section, we are constantly refreshing styles and adding new size/color options – particular on some of our tried and true top sellers such as 2169, 2205 and more. Keep in mind that for brides with quick turnaround times, we are able to ship these gowns at a moment’s notice for fast order fulfillment. To view what is currently in stock, simply hit the “Retailer Login” button at the top right hand corner of our website, and click ATS on the dashboard once you’ve logged in.

CASABLANCA BRIDAL ROAD SHOW UPDATE

After a successful test pilot for the F17 season, Casablanca Bridal was pleased to roll out a full expansion of our road show program this summer. These shows were an opportunity for buyers to touch and see the Spring 2018 collections prior to the start of the market selling season We were thrilled with the response to the designs and look forward to exhibiting them at market.

CASABLANCA BRIDAL NOMINATED FOR BRIDAL BUYER AWARD Casablanca Bridal has just been nominated as one of 6 finalists for the Bridal Buyer Award for Best Plus-Size Collection. This prestigious nomination is essentially the DEBI equivalent in the UK market, where Casablanca Bridal is much newer to the scene. We consider it a huge compliment that after only three seasons of exhibiting at the UK trade shows, we are already garnering international acclaim for our design and service excellence. Our team is looking forward to the award ceremony following the Harrogate Bridal Market this September, where the winner will be announced. Casablanca Bridal also received a shortlist recognition for Best Bridal Manufacturer, but unfortunately did not make it past the semi-final round into the final.

Still, we consider it an overall honor to even be considered, and we thank our stockists for their help in making this happen.

CASABLANCA CONCIERGE COMING SOON Each month, tens of thousands of visitors come to our site, then click through to our store locator and bridal showcases page, looking for a location to try on gowns. However, what happens between clicking to find a location, and actually purchasing the gown?

We are underway in problem solving how to harness these leads for you with a new service on our website called Casablanca Concierge. At multiple points on our website, brides will be prompted to fill out an appointment request form, which will be sent to our sales department who will act as the bride’s personal concierge to get in touch with a store and physically help them book their appointment to try on Casablanca Bridal gowns.

Preference will be given to the nearest store to the bride that is in good standing. Other factors for store preference include active stock orders, higher star award levels, and Casablanca Certified consultants. Once our web team has finished building the infrastructure in our site, we will notify you of the launch.

SOCIAL MEDIA SERVICES AVAILABLE

The Casablanca Bridal Marketing & Social Media departments are pleased to offer oneon-one consultations for stores looking to help get their social media up and running and more effectively, and coach them on best practices to better utilize the social media content we send out every week. If you would like to set an appointment time for your store, please email marketing@casablancabridal.com. Do not miss your chance to learn more! If you have not yet subscribed to the Casablanca Bridal weekly social media kit mailing list, you can sign up by visiting http://bit.ly/CasablancaSM.

CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL

FALL 2017 TOP BOOKED 1

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1. 2306 SAVANNAH 2. 2289 AMBER 3. 2295 JADE

4. 2292 SEDONA 5. 2288 SIENNA 6. 2296 PIPER 7. 2301 SIERRA

B E LO VE D B Y CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL

FALL 2017 TOP BOOKED 1

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1. BL239 CAROLINA BL239V 2. BL245 MIDNIGHT 3. BL242 COBALT

4. BL235 PERIWINKLE BL235V 5. BL233 AZURE BL233V 6. BL234 CALYPSO 7. BL244 LAPIS BL244V

AM A R É C O U T U R E

SPRING 2017 TOP BOOKED 1

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1. C113 EVANGELINE 2. C121 NICOLETTE 3. C115 ELODIE

4. C117 NATALIA 5. C123 CHARLOTTE 6. C124 ANASTASIA 7. C122 KENNEDY

CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL

BEST SELLERS 1

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1. STYLE 1975 2. STYLE 2205 3. STYLE 2229

4. STYLE 2254 5. STYLE 2256 6. STYLE 2072 7. STYLE 2201

CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL

BEST SELLERS 8

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8. STYLE 2169 9. STYLE 1827 10. STYLE 2228

11. STYLE 2267 12. STYLE 2232 13. STYLE 2215 14. STYLE 2248

CASABLANCA SUMMER PICNIC Casablanca Bridal kicks off the summer with a buffet picnic at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, sharing memories over family-friendly activities including face painting and penguin petting!

YEARS OF L O YA LT Y A big congratulations to our two employees who are celebrating 10 years with Casablanca Bridal! THANK YOU for your loyalty, Soledad & Gus!

CELEBRATE FOREVER FOUNDATION W I T H CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL

Celebrate Forever is the faith-based non-profit organization started by Casablanca Bridal founders Kevin and Gloria Lu. Celebrate Forever believes that individual change leads to improved relationships, healthier families and stronger communities. When it comes to this individual change, Celebrate Forever reminds that “Save one family. It starts from me, change me first®.”

Celebrate Forever’s recent initiative has been the Walk For Family® project. Between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, A love-raising campaign encouraging families to pause from their hectic schedules to focus on taking a walk together instead. Tuning out from devices and the stress of the outside world can improve the quality of communication and bond between family.

Locally, a walk was hosted at Crystal Cove State Park for the Southern California community to come together, but participation was encouraged all around the world by using the hashtag #WalkForFamily on social media to notate participation.

Visit our website at http://www.walkforfamily.org for more information, and don’t forget to upload or hashtag your walk to join in the fun!

J o i n T h e C o n v e r s at i o n !

Be sure to submit your #CasablancaBride photos to marketing@casablancabridal.com so that we can feature you and your brides across our various social platforms!

Follow, tag and mention us for additional social media coverage of your store location.

CAS A B L AN CA B R I D AL CASABLANCABRIDE

CASABLANCABRIDALINC

CASABLANCABRIDA

CASABLANCABRIDAL

AM A R É C O U T U R E AMARECOUTURE

AMARE _ COUTURE

B E LO VE D B Y CASAB L AN CA B R I DAL BELOVEDBYCASA

BELOVED _ BRIDALS

FIND OUR ADVERTISeMENTS IN...

EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH Each month, the Casablanca Bridal staff nominates a coworker who they feel has gone above and beyond to support their department and the company overall. The winning employee is announced at an all-staff meeting, then presented with a prize and a front row parking spot.

Here are our Casablanca Bridal Employee of the month winners for the last quarter, along with their title, length of time with the company, and favorite style of diamond ring.

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

DEANNA PAULSEN

BRITTANY BUFFINGTON

Senior Accounting Clerk

Social Media Coordinator

Customer Service Specialist

February 16th, 2017

January 20th,2017

February 20th, 2017

“Round Brilliant Solitaire”

“Princess Cut”

“Round Solitaire”

NANCY HO

D O M E S T I C C O N TA C T S

I n t e r n at i o n a l c o n ta c t s

C O R P O R AT E O F F I C E

C O R P O R AT E O F F I C E

Director of Sales & Marketing Kari Loftin Office: 714.224.1607 Email: kari@casablancabridal.com

International Sales Manager Danielle Camacho Office: 714.224.1609 Email: danielle@casablancabridal.com

N E W E N G L AN D

E N G L AN D , I R E L AN D , S C OT L AN D & WAL E S

Northern NY, ME, VT, MA, NH, RI Pat Shanahan Cell: 315.767.0101 Email: pfs63@yahoo.com N O R T H EAS T

Southern NY, CT, DE, MD, NJ, Eastern PA David Baslow Cell: 818.292.3496 Email: bazz2dabone@aol.com S O U T H EAS T

VA, WVA, TN, GA, NC, SC, FL, MS, AL Bill Stryker & Lisa Stryker Office: 240.469.4175 Emails: ultrastryk@yahoo.com lisadeu65@yahoo.com EAS T E R N M I D WE S T

Andy & Denise Burgess-Farrant Office:07759 226220 Email: enquiries@casablancabridal.co.uk C E NT R AL E U R O P E D I S T R I B U T I O N

Danny Bierman Office: 0031 297 263150 Email: danny@casablancabridal.eu B E N E LU X

Astrid Klerkx Tel: 0031 (0) 6 42291756 Email: astrid@casablancabridal.eu CAN AD I AN S AL E S & C U S TO M E R S E R V I C E

Anna Decorso Office: 647.748.2244 Email: Anna@casablancabridal.ca

Western PA, OH, IN, MI, KY Pete Skalba Cell: 440.864.7252 Email: peteskalba@gmail.com

Sue Lessard Cell: 416.726.5366 Email: Sue@casablancabridal.ca

WE S T E R N M I D WE S T

M I D D L E EAS T

IL, NE, WI, MN, ND, SD, IA Alan Powell Cell: 610.703.0182 Email: apssalesllc@gmail.com

CAN AD A

Harry Kaprielian Cell: 514.578.0946 Email: hk@canadextrading.com

S O U T H WE S T

TX, OK, KS, MO, NM, AR, LA, MS Gary Coffman Cell: 972.342.9449 Email: garycoffman@gmail.com P AC I F I C N O R T H WE S T

NV, WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, AK Jolee Johnson Cell: 626.808.7247 Email: Jolee.johnsonjohnson@gmail.com WE S T C O AS T

CA, UT, CO, AZ, HI Luke Tasky Cell: 626.602.6845 Email: Lrtasky@aol.com

For assistance with customer service, please contact 800-531-6494 or email: info@casablancabridal.com. For assistance with our Social Media Program, to submit Real Bride photos, or for other social media and marketing inquiries, please reach out to marketing@casablancabridal.com, or 714-224-1601. For assistance with placing orders or collection information, please email at orders@ casablancabridal.com or contact your local sales representative.

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