Destination Maternity Announces First Store Opening in United Arab Emirates

PHILADELPHIA,  March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --  Destination Maternity Corporation (Nasdaq: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, is excited to announce the opening of Destination Maternity® in the Mirdiff City Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  Destination Maternity is the home of the world's leading maternity brands Motherhood Maternity® and A Pea in the Pod® (including its premier luxury line, A Pea in the Pod Collection™).  It is a one-stop shop for the most extraordinary selection of maternity fashion, accessories and everything imaginable for the pregnant woman.  Destination Maternity joins stores such as Debenhams®, Zara®, and H&M® in this brand new mall, centrally located in Dubai City.

This is the third store Destination Maternity Corporation has opened through its franchisee, Multi Trend, a member of the Al Homaizi Group.  Destination Maternity and Multi Trend opened an A Pea in the Pod® store in July 2009 in the 360 Mall in South Surra, Kuwait, and a Motherhood Maternity® store in November 2009 in the Al Bairaq Mall in Fintas, Kuwait.

Under a multi-year franchise agreement, Destination Maternity has partnered with Multi Trend to operate branded retail locations and market merchandise under the Company's Destination Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Edamame The Maternity Spa® brands in six key markets in the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

About Destination Maternity Corporation

Destination Maternity Corporation is the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel.  In the United States and Canada, as of February 28, 2010, Destination Maternity operates 1,689 retail locations, including 711 stores, predominantly under the tradenames Motherhood Maternity®, A Pea in the Pod®, and Destination Maternity®, and sells on the web through its DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific websites.  Destination Maternity also distributes its Oh Baby by Motherhood® collection through a licensed arrangement at Kohl's® stores throughout the United States and on Kohls.com.  In addition, Destination Maternity is expanding internationally and has entered into exclusive store franchise and product supply relationships in India and the Middle East.

About Multi Trend and the Al Homaizi Group

Multi Trend, a member of the Al Homaizi Group, is a franchisee in the Middle East for numerous leading lifestyle brands including Custo Barcelona, a Spanish brand of fashion clothing and accessories; Go Sport, a French sporting goods retailer; and Cath Kidston, a British brand for home accessories. In addition, with operations in the Middle East, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, the Al Homaizi Group is a diversified entity with business interests in retail enterprises including franchisee operations across the following sectors: casual and fine dining (including Burger King, Pizza Hut and Applebee's franchises), food and beverages (including Al Rifai, Scoop a Cone and Boost Juice franchises), and home and office furnishings (through an IKEA franchise).

The Company cautions that any forward-looking statements (as such term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) contained in this press release or made from time to time by management of the Company, including those regarding international expansion, results of operations, financial condition, and various business initiatives, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors.  The following factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect the Company's financial performance and actual results and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such forward-looking statements: the impact of the current global economic slowdown on the retail industry in general and on apparel purchases in particular, our ability to successfully manage our various business initiatives, our ability to successfully implement our merchandise brand and retail nameplate restructuring, the success of our international expansion, our ability to successfully manage and retain our leased department and licensed relationships and marketing partnerships, future sales trends in our existing store base, unusual weather patterns, changes in consumer spending patterns, raw material price increases, overall economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence, demographics and other macroeconomic factors that may impact the level of spending for maternity apparel,  expense savings initiatives, our ability to anticipate and respond to fashion trends and consumer preferences, anticipated fluctuations in our operating results, the impact of competition and fluctuations in the price, availability and quality of raw materials and contracted products, availability of suitable store locations, continued availability of capital and financing, goodwill impairment charges, our ability to hire and develop senior management and sales associates, our ability to develop and source merchandise, our ability to receive production from foreign sources on a timely basis, potential stock repurchases, potential debt prepayments, changes in market interest rates, war or acts of terrorism and other factors set forth in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or in materials incorporated therein by reference.

SOURCE Destination Maternity Corporation

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED