Retail: Earlier this year, you were appointed CEO of David’s Bridal and were tasked with leading the company into its next chapter. A key part of the plan is centered on digital innovation, such as the upcoming launch of an AI-powered personalized wedding tool. Can you elaborate on what David’s Bridal’s ‘aisle-to-algorithm’ campaign looks like? Kelly Cook: We have 90 per cent of all brides coming to David’s Bridal, from couture brides to budget brides to those in the middle. The algorithm is about helping them with everything they need in their wedding planning, versus just with bridal gowns. The ‘aisle-to-algorithm’ campaign is centered around our vision of becoming the largest AI-powered retail media and planning marketplace serving brides in the wedding industry. That vision has three key components: One, serving all brides in all channels. Two, selling all the products associated with a wedding; not just wedding dresses but menswear, fine and costume jewelry, swimwear and so on. The third part of the strategy is to lead with loyalty and own event planning, all from an AI-powered asset-focused lens. IR: Aside from AI, how else do you plan to level up David’s Bridal’s technological capabilities? KC: When you think about the bride, she’s happy for about 15 minutes, post-proposal, then panic sets in because she’s worried about planning this wedding. Literally for 18 months post-proposal, her primary emotion is financially focused anxiety. So everything we’re doing is centered on relieving that financial anxiety and making the process actually enjoyable for the bride. Going back to the first component of our technology journey – serving brides in all channels – we are focusing on content-based inspiration. The average bride spends 10 hours a week watching videos, so we acquired Love Stories TV. Then, from an economic point of view, we have added the ad network Pearl Media, sitting on top of all that content. When the bride hits our media funnel, she tells us details like her wedding colors, where and when she’s getting married and her theme, and we now use AI to take that data and present her with ads that are meaningful to her.  For example, we wouldn’t provide ads about a beach wedding if she’s getting married in the winter in Montana. IR: You’ve previously mentioned that when the pandemic came about, the biggest challenge David’s Bridal faced was staying ahead of all the changes. With that being said, what advice would you give to other retailers to be able to do this? KC: I would give three-pronged advice. First, I would say that if cauliflower can become pizza, anything can happen. Have a ‘how might we’ attitude versus a ‘we can’t because we tried this’ attitude. Mindset is important in how you tackle and navigate modern retail. The second piece of advice I would give is something that I’m championing internally. There is a way you want people on your team to think about conflict, challenges and opportunities, and how they approach them. I’m talking about the mindset of approaching problems with copious doses of fearlessness and without hubris, and the ability to make changes and take risks, which we actually celebrate. You have to create a culture where mistakes and risk are OK. Third, I would say it is critical for your company to approach the customer and your employee experience from a perspective of serving them. In my experience, when you come at a business through the lens of, ‘How can I serve this person differently, more efficiently and more economically,’ it tends to open up opportunities that you did not notice before. While there’s practical advice that you can pick up in a book, to me, those three pieces of advice are the ones that I champion the most. IR: In a previous interview with Inside Retail, you said that one of your most memorable experiences working at David’s Bridal was the first time you ever witnessed a customer find their dress, and you ended up crying so hard that your eyelashes fell off. What do you think retailers need to remember about the power of not only selling to customers but connecting with them on an emotional level, in addition to focusing on the technical aspects of the business? KC: [Laughs] They fell right off! Now, I keep backup lashes in my bag. Connecting with consumers on an emotional level is going to be key for brands moving forward because AI isn’t going to replace the humanity of the brand. While you can use AI to become more efficient and better at problem-solving, it won’t entirely replace the employee. Consumers are going to notice humanity more because the playing field is being evened out through technology. IR: It’s fair to say that David’s Bridal has had some challenges over the past few years, with the company declaring bankruptcy in 2018, then once more in 2023. Since then, David’s Bridal has been making strategic moves to ensure its long-term success, such as investing in AI and delving into retail media. How do you plan to ensure that David’s Bridal establishes a steady path towards profitability and stability? KC: The first thing is that we’re funding our future, meaning we’re not going to spend money until we make money. Second, we’re going to ensure that everything we do comes from a perspective of growth and serving assets we already have, from optimizing conversion to optimizing our traffic. Believe it or not, we have 7-8 million people coming to our website every month. That’s a lot of people you can convert without spending a lot of extra money. So we’re looking at it through that lens.