David's Bridal names new chief technology officer

Dive Brief:

On Tuesday, David's Bridal announced that it hired Danny Luczak as its new chief technology officer, starting July 6.
Luczak will oversee the creation, execution and operations of the company's technology strategy. He reports to Kelly Cook, the company's chief marketing and IT officer, the company said in its statement.
Before joining the wedding retailer, Luczak held senior technology positions at companies like Public Storage, DSW and The Home Depot. He has a background in enterprise architecture, data management, applications development and tech strategy, per the company press release.

Dive Insight:

Add hiring a new CTO to David's Bridal's efforts to modernize its technological infrastructure and features. Before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the wedding retailer has been dedicated to its tech strategy, unveiling a range of digital offerings, including its Zoey chatbot, virtual styling and appointments, digital wedding planning tools and remote appointments via Zoom. The retailer also partnered with Popwallet to offer customer incentives via mobile wallets.

Several of the bridal retailer's new tech tools come after the company underwent leadership changes and coped with financial woes. Less than a year after filing for bankruptcy, the company was in search of a new solution to its balance sheet struggles, and raised $55 million in new capital and agreed to trade $276 million on its term loan principal into new stock in the company. In March 2019, the retailer's CEO and CFO both left the company.

The retailer's technological investments have come especially fast during the pandemic, but the retailer had invested in the area prior to this point. In December 2019, Lizzy Ellingson was named as the first chief digital experience officer, also reporting to Cook.

In the announcement of Luczak's hire, Cook noted that he had prior experience in bringing about technological change that the bridal retailer needs. Luczak also mentioned in the statement that he seeks to improve the company's tech tools and fine-tune the overall customer experience.

Other retailers in the matrimonial space have modernized their tech features to attract customers, too. Jewelry retailer Jared debuted a virtual wedding planning platform in May, and Macy's teamed up with Zola in January to let couples register for bedding, bath, tabletop and home goods gifts on Zola. Beyond David's Bridal's own tech transformation, accelerated by the needs of the coronavirus pandemic, retailers in the space are also adapting to changing wedding apparel and registry trends that have overthrown the traditional operation of wedding retail.