PHILADELPHIA, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Destination Maternity Corporation (Nasdaq: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today announced its planned expansion into India through an international franchise agreement with Mahindra Retail, part of the Mahindra Group, to introduce its Motherhood Maternity(R), Destination Maternity(R), and A Pea in the Pod(R) brands into India. Destination Maternity will initially make its product available for sale through Mahindra Retail's exciting, new Mom & Me(TM) stores in India. Mahindra Group is one of the leading industrial companies in India with operations in several key sectors of the Indian economy.
Mom & Me stores offer a unique retail environment for expecting mothers, mothers, infants and children up to the age of nine with an extensive range of products including maternity wear, infants and kids fashion, educational & activity toys and games, wellness products for mothers and babies, nursery furniture and furnishings, travel and safety products and much more.
Destination Maternity previously announced, in October 2008, that it had signed its first international franchise agreement to introduce its brands into six key markets in the Middle East. The first Destination Maternity branded retail locations in the Middle East are expected to open during 2009.
Under the multi-year franchise agreement for India, Destination Maternity has granted to Mahindra Retail the exclusive rights to operate branded retail locations and market merchandise under the Company's Motherhood Maternity(R), Destination Maternity(R), and A Pea in the Pod(R) brands in India. Currently, Mahindra Retail has opened 5 Mom & Me locations carrying Motherhood Maternity product in the Indian cities of Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Pune and New Delhi. Mahindra will exclusively purchase maternity and nursing apparel merchandise from Destination Maternity or suppliers designated by Destination Maternity. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer of Destination Maternity, commented, "We are very excited to announce our expansion into India. Through our partnership with Mahindra Retail, with their breadth of experience and strong reputation in India, we will be able to bring our brands into this rapidly emerging market. We are thrilled to introduce our brands to the growing population of new moms-to-be in India who love to shop and have an ever increasing need for high-quality, fashionable maternity apparel. This new relationship is another important step in our Company's continued evolution into the global leader in the maternity apparel space. With the strength of our brands and our merchandise, combined with Mahindra Retail's strong retail experience and local knowledge, we believe that this business will become the leading maternity apparel retailer in India, just as we are the leading maternity apparel retailer in the United States."
K. Venkataraman, Managing Director of Mahindra Retail added, "We are delighted to partner with Destination Maternity on their entry into India, and also in bringing their fine quality maternity fashion to moms-to-be in India. The experience of Destination Maternity, combined with the unique Mom & Me stores launched by Mahindra Retail to cater exclusively to moms, moms-to-be and kids, will provide the ideal platform for growing the maternity apparel and nursing products business in India. Both companies will work together to create new labels of ethnic maternity wear to enlarge the market scope and increase customer choice & satisfaction."
About Mahindra Retail
Mahindra Retail is an extension of the Mahindra Group's trading foray in the domestic India market. The Group believes that this is the favorable time to extend its distribution business into direct retailing, when the organized retail market is expanding in India. Apart from distributing toys, games and apparel under licenses from various international brands like LEGO(R), Disney(R) and Mattel(R), it has now entered into a unique venture with the launch of Mom & Me stores, which specialize in infant and maternity care.
The Mom & Me stores range from 5,000 to 12,000 square feet in size, and offer a complete range of products required by moms-to-be, moms, babies and kids. The first five stores were launched in early 2009 in Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Pune and New Delhi. The company is based out of Bangalore, India.
For more information, please visit www.momandme.in
About Mahindra Group
Mahindra Group, with annual revenue of US $6.7 billion, is among the top 10 industrial houses in India. The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including the financial services, trade, retail and logistics, automotive components, after-market, information technology and infrastructure development. The United States based Reputation Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its "Global 200: The World's Best Corporate Reputations" list. Mahindra is also one of the few Indian companies to receive an A+ GRI checked rating for its first Sustainability Report for the year 2007-08, reflecting Mahindra's strong concern for the environment.
For further enquiries to Mahindra Group please contact:
Ms. Roma Balwani
VP & Head - Corporate Communication
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd
Phone: (+91-22) 2490 1441
Fax: (+91-22) 2490 0830
Email: balwani.roma@mahindra.com
About Destination Maternity Corporation
Destination Maternity Corporation is the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel, using its quick response replenishment system to "give the customer what she wants, when she wants it." In the United States and Canada, Destination Maternity operates, as of March 31, 2009, 1,088 retail locations, including 734 stores, predominantly under the tradenames Motherhood Maternity(R), A Pea in the Pod(R), and Destination Maternity(R), and sells on the web through its DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific websites. Destination Maternity also distributes its Oh Baby by Motherhood(TM) collection through a licensed arrangement at Kohl's(R) stores throughout the United States and on Kohls.com. In addition, Destination Maternity is expanding internationally and has recently entered into exclusive store franchise and product supply relationships in India and in the Middle East.
Destination Maternity ("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: 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 preferences and spending patterns, demographics and other macroeconomic factors that may impact the level of spending for maternity apparel, overall economic conditions and other factors affecting consumer confidence, 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, potential goodwill impairment charges, ability to hire and develop senior management and sales associates, ability to develop and source merchandise, 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.
Destination Maternity press releases available through Company News On-Call at http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/581877.html
