Destination Maternity Corporation Expands International Reach With Mexican Franchise
PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today announced its planned expansion into Mexico through an international franchise agreement with El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V., the largest department store company in Mexico. Through this franchise relationship, Destination Maternity Corporation will introduce its Motherhood Maternity®, A Pea in the Pod®, and Destination Maternity® brands into Mexico, with the first franchise locations expected to open in Spring 2014. Destination Maternity brands will initially be sold through shop-in-shops in Liverpool department stores throughout Mexico, with plans to open freestanding Destination Maternity stores in Mexico later in 2014 and beyond.
El Puerto de Liverpool operates 101 stores in Mexico, under three different brand names: Liverpool, Fabricas de Francia, and Liverpool Duty Free. Under this multi-year franchise agreement, Destination Maternity has granted to El Puerto de Liverpool the right to operate branded retail locations and market merchandise under the Company's Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity brands in Mexico. El Puerto de Liverpool will be the distributor of maternity and nursing apparel merchandise in Mexico from Destination Maternity and suppliers designated by Destination Maternity.
Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Maternity Corporation, commented, "We are excited to announce our expansion into Mexico with a market-leading retailer like Liverpool who can help us bring the Destination Maternity experience, from our great fashion to our high level of service, to expecting moms throughout Mexico. Working closely with Liverpool, we look forward to serving moms-to-be in Mexico like no other maternity apparel retailer can. International expansion is an important part of our long-term strategy to expand our business and to further strengthen our market position as the world's leading maternity apparel retailer."
El Puerto de Liverpool Chief Executive Officer Jorge A. Salgado said, "We are very pleased to be able to introduce the Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity brands to Mexico and to be able to offer our customers the best assortment of maternity wear at price points that accommodate any budget. Destination Maternity's reputation for leading the industry in both fashion and innovation makes the Company an ideal resource and collaborator for us as we enter the maternity and nursing apparel space."
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 September 30, 2013, Destination Maternity operates 1,907 retail locations, including 596 stores, predominantly under the tradenames Motherhood Maternity®, A Pea in the Pod®, and Destination Maternity®, and 1,311 leased department locations, 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 has store franchise and product supply relationships in India, the Middle East, South Korea and Mexico. As of September 30, 2013, Destination Maternity has 143 international franchised locations, including 123 shop-in-shop locations and 20 Destination Maternity branded stores.
About El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V.
El Puerto de Liverpool, S.A.B. de C.V. is the largest full-scale department store Company in Mexico, with 101 units in operation, under three different brand names: Liverpool, Fabricas de Francia, and Liverpool Duty Free. The Company has more than 1.4 million square meters of sales floor and is present in 57 cities throughout the Mexican Republic. Liverpool's real estate operations are supported by 21 shopping malls in 14 different Mexican cities, in which Liverpool has more than 375 thousand square meters of gross leasing space. Liverpool is the third largest credit card issuer in Mexico, with more than 3.4 million cards. With more than 40 store fronts in several shopping malls, Liverpool also represents several specialty retail firms in Mexico including GAP, Banana Republic and Aeropostale®.
Destination Maternity Corporation (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 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 continuation of the economic recovery of the retail industry in general and of apparel purchases in particular, our ability to successfully manage our various business initiatives, the success of our international business and its 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 and through the Internet, 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, unanticipated 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, 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, the continuation of the regular quarterly cash dividend, the trading liquidity of our common stock, changes in market interest rates, our ability to successfully manage and accomplish our planned relocation of our headquarters and distribution center facilities with minimal disruption to our overall operations, 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
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