Destination Maternity Reports Sales for January 2011

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Maternity Corporation (Nasdaq: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today reported that net sales for the month of January 2011 decreased 1.5% to $37.8 million from $38.4 million reported for the month of January 2010.  Comparable retail sales data (which consists of comparable store sales and Internet sales) for the months of January 2011 and 2010 is included in the table below.

The decrease in total reported sales for January 2011 compared to January 2010 resulted primarily from decreased sales from the Company's licensed relationship and decreased sales related to the Company's continued efforts to close underperforming stores, partially offset by increased Internet and international sales.

Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer & President of Destination Maternity, noted, "Our sales for the month of January were in line with our plans and were at the high end of our recent guidance range, with our comparable retail sales increasing 2.1% after adjusting for the 'days adjustment calendar shift.'  Our positive comparable retail sales for January reflects our strong Internet sales, which increased 23.8%, and comparable store sales that increased 0.4% after adjusting for the 'days adjustment calendar shift.' We are encouraged by the improvement in our sales trend in recent months, as well as our improved sales trend in the second half of January compared to the first half.  

"As we have indicated previously, we are keenly focused on initiatives to drive profitable sales growth, including increasing our comparable store sales.  Among our other initiatives, the significant expansion of our maternity apparel leased department relationship with Macy's® will be mostly complete by the end of February 2011, increasing our relationship from 115 Macy's locations to approximately 630 Macy's locations throughout the United States, offering a mix of Motherhood Maternity® and A Pea in the Pod® branded merchandise.  This expansion with Macy's will deepen our position as the leading maternity apparel retailer in the world.  In addition, we are focused on continuing to enhance our merchandise assortments, merchandise presentation and customer experience."

During January 2011, the Company did not open any stores and closed 11 stores, including one store closing related to a future Destination Maternity® multi-brand store opening.  As of the end of January 2011, the Company operates 679 stores, 1,276 leased department locations and 1,955 total retail locations, compared to 711 stores, 969 leased department locations and 1,690 total retail locations operated at the end of January 2010.  The increase in leased department locations at the end of January 2011 versus the end of January 2010 predominantly reflects the opening of an additional 217 Sears and Kmart leased department locations in September and October 2010, and the opening of the initial 90 leased department locations of our Macy's expansion.

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 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 January 2011, there was one less Friday and one more Monday compared to January 2010.  The Company estimates this calendar shift unfavorably impacted its reported comparable retail sales for January 2011 by approximately 1.0 percentage points.  For January 2010, there was one more Sunday and one less Thursday compared to January 2009.  The Company estimates this calendar shift favorably impacted its reported comparable retail sales for January 2010 by approximately 0.5 percentage points.

Destination Maternity Corporation is the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel.  In the United States and Canada, as of January 31, 2011, Destination Maternity operates 1,955 retail locations, including 679 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 earnings, 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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