Square : Brides of Florida Nearly Quadruples Its Floor Space with Smart Investment

Three years ago, Macarena Diaz was happy in the small, 550-square-foot store that she rented for her shop, Brides of Florida. But when larger stores started moving into the mall and Macarena was given 90 days to move, she wasn't sure where her business would go. Then she received an offer for financing through Square Capital.

'Square Capital came in at the perfect time,' said Macarena.

With the funds through Square Capital, Brides of Florida was able to move across the street into a 2,000-square-foot store. The space has made all the difference. Not only can Macarena and her staff see more brides and do fittings, but also they have more space for inventory.

Thirty-one percent of businesses that receive loans through Square Capital invest it in inventory. Similarly, Macarena used her next loan through Square Capital pick up a new collection of dresses at the bridal market in Chicago.

Macarena also notes that the new funding enabled her to purchase collections from designers like Vera Wang, which she hadn't been able to offer before, in some cases because higher-end designers had minimum purchase requirements.

As a result, she's been able to offer dresses at higher price points - her highest-price dress used to be $4,000, and now it's $8,000. This means more revenue for Brides of Florida and a larger variety of dresses (in a wider range of prices) for its client base.

'[Square Capital] was easy for me to understand,' said Macarena. 'They let you know this is how much you're going to pay for this amount of money, and this is how much is going to come out of your sales at the end of the day.'

She believes that Square Capital helped propel her business. 'It makes all the difference when you feel like a company trusts you and believes in your business.'

This online survey of 7,000 Square sellers who have accepted loans through Square Capital was commissioned by Square Capital and conducted by Qualtrics. The survey has an overall margin of error of 1-2% at 95% confidence interval. Participation in the survey was optional and all data was self-reported by study participants. Responses and insights gathered were shared with Square Capital in an aggregated and anonymous manner. Respondents participated in the study between January 9-11, 2017.

Square Capital, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Square, Inc., d/b/a Square Capital of California, LLC in FL, GA, MT, and NY. All loans are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank. Member FDIC, located in Salt Lake City, UT. Loans are not issued to borrowers in ND. The individual authorized to act on behalf of the business must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and at least 18 years old. Valid U.S. bank account and Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number are required. Actual fee depends upon payment card processing history and loan amount. A minimum payment of 1/18th of the initial loan balance is required every 60 days and full loan repayment is required within 18 months. All loans are subject to credit approval.