Destination Maternity Reports Sales for April 2011

PHILADELPHIA, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Maternity Corporation (Nasdaq: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today reported that net sales for the month of April increased 11.3% to $54.3 million from $48.8 million reported for the month of April 2010.  Comparable retail sales data (which consists of comparable store sales and Internet sales) for the months of April 2011 and 2010 is included in the table below.

The increase in total reported sales for April 2011 compared to April 2010 resulted primarily from: (1) increased sales due to the expansion of the Company's maternity apparel leased department relationship with Macy's®; (2) increased sales from the Company's licensed wholesale relationship, driven by a shift in shipments from March to April driven by the later timing of Easter this year versus last year; and (3) the increase in comparable retail sales, which was largely due to the benefit of having an extra Saturday in April 2011 compared to April 2010.

Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer & President of Destination Maternity, noted, "We are pleased that our sales performance for the month of April was in line with our plans and showed improvement compared to our March sales performance.  Our comparable retail sales for April increased 3.2% on a reported basis and increased 0.4% after adjusting for the "days adjustment calendar shift," both of which were slightly higher than the midpoint of our recent guidance range provided in our April 27, 2011 press release.  Our positive comparable retail sales performance for April reflects our continued strong Internet sales, which increased 23% versus April 2010 Internet sales which had increased 25% over April 2009.  It is important to note that our comparable retail sales results are negatively impacted by the cannibalization impact of our Macy's leased department expansion, which had its first full month of operation in March 2011.

"In February, we completed the significant expansion of our maternity apparel leased department relationship with Macy's, increasing from 115 Macy's locations to our current 632 Macy's locations throughout the United States, offering a mix of Motherhood Maternity® and A Pea in the Pod® branded merchandise.  We have been a proud partner with Macy's for nearly 20 years, and this expansion deepens our position as the leading maternity apparel retailer in the world."

During April 2011, the Company opened two stores, including one Destination Maternity multi-brand store, and closed nine stores, including two store closings related to the Destination Maternity multi-brand store opening.  As of the end of April 2011, the Company operates 665 stores, 1,704 leased department locations and 2,369 total retail locations, compared to 708 stores, 978 leased department locations and 1,686 total retail locations operated at the end of April 2010.  The increase in leased department locations at the end of April 2011 versus the end of April 2010 predominantly reflects the opening of 517 leased department locations during the second quarter of fiscal 2011 for our Macy's expansion, and the opening of an additional 217 Sears and Kmart leased department locations in September and October 2010.

Days Adjustment Calendar Shift

Destination Maternity reports sales on a calendar month basis, rather than on a "4-5-4 retail fiscal calendar" where each fiscal week and fiscal month starts on a Sunday and ends on a Saturday.  Thus, for each calendar month, there is typically a "days adjustment calendar shift" which may help or hurt reported calendar month sales, comparable retail sales and comparable store sales due to different days of the week typically contributing more sales than other days of the week.  For April 2011, there was one more Saturday and one less Thursday compared to April 2010.  The Company estimates this calendar shift favorably impacted its reported comparable retail sales for April 2011 by approximately 2.8 percentage points.  For May 2011, there will be one less Saturday and one more Tuesday compared to May 2010, and the Company estimates that this calendar shift will unfavorably impact its reported comparable retail sales for May 2011 by approximately 3 percentage points.  For April 2010, there was one more Friday and one less Wednesday compared to April 2009.  The Company estimates this calendar shift favorably impacted its reported comparable retail sales for April 2010 by approximately 0.9 percentage points.

Destination Maternity Corporation is the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel.  In the United States and Canada, as of April 30, 2011, Destination Maternity operates 2,369 retail locations, including 665 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 exclusive store franchise and product supply relationships in India and the Middle East.

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 net sales, comparable retail sales, comparable store sales, other results of operations, liquidity and 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 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 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, potential debt prepayments, the continuation of the regular quarterly cash dividend, the trading liquidity of our common stock, 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

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