Destination Maternity Announces Opening of Its First Stores in South Korea

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Destination Maternity Corporation (Nasdaq: DEST), the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today announced the opening of two Destination Maternity® stores and two shop-in-shops in South Korea.

Located at 203-36 HwaJeon-dong, Dukyang-gu in the city of Koyang and 1430 Dunsan-dong, Seo-gu, in the city of DaeJeon, the Company's first Destination Maternity freestanding stores in South Korea were opened by partner Agabang & Company.  Destination Maternity is the home of the world's leading maternity brands Motherhood Maternity® and A Pea in the Pod®. It is a one-stop shop for the most extraordinary selection of maternity fashion, accessories, and everything imaginable for the pregnant woman.  

In the city of Seoul, Destination Maternity shop-in-shops featuring Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod fashions can now be found in the Nextmom® store in the Youksam-dong section of Kangnam-gu and in the Nextmom Garden Five Mall location in the Moonjung-dong section of Songpa-gu.  Nextmom stores, which are owned and operated by Agabang & Company, offer an extensive range of pre- and post-natal products including baby clothes, toys, wellness products, nursery furniture and more.  

These freestanding Destination Maternity stores and shop-in-shops open on the heels of a fashion show that launched the Destination Maternity brands in South Korea at the 20th Seoul Coex International Fair for Mother & Baby on August 11th of this year.  

Destination Maternity has granted to Agabang & Company the exclusive rights to operate branded retail locations and market merchandise under the Company's Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Destination Maternity brands in South Korea under a multi-year franchise agreement.  This franchise relationship with Agabang is the third such relationship entered into by Destination Maternity since 2008. In October 2008 Destination Maternity announced the signing of its first international franchise agreement to introduce its brands into six key markets in the Middle East. In 2009, the Company signed its second international franchise agreement to introduce its brands into India. Currently, Destination Maternity has 61 international franchised locations, including 48 shop-in-shop locations and 13 Destination Maternity branded stores.

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 August 31, 2011, Destination Maternity operates 2,349 retail locations, including 656 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, the Middle East and South Korea.  As of August 31, 2011, Destination Maternity has 61 international franchised locations, including 48 shop-in-shop locations and 13 Destination Maternity branded stores.

About Agabang & Company
In 1979 Agabang & Company launched the first professional company in South Korea specializing in baby clothing and gear and is now the leading retailer of baby apparel and accessories in South Korea.  In South Korea, as of August 31, 2011, Agabang has 40 Agabang owned and operated freestanding stores under the Agabang Gallery®, Baby House®, and Nextmom® brands, 365 franchised freestanding locations under the Agabang®, Ettoi®, Dear Baby®, Elle® and 2ya2aO® brands, and 393 owned or franchised shop-in-shops under its owned or licensed brands in retail stores such as Lotte®, Shinsegae®, Hyundai® and E-Mart®.  Agabang also sells on the web through www.aganet.co.kr.  In addition, as of August 31, 2011, Agabang & Company operates 54 franchised freestanding stores in China under the Agabang brand and 79 shop-in-shops within major department stores in China such as Parkson®, Isetan® and Jeonhwa®.

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, 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