PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mothers Work, Inc. , the world's leading maternity apparel retailer, today announced its planned expansion into six key markets in the Middle East with its first international franchise agreement with Multi Trend, a member of the Al-Homaizi Group, to introduce its Destination Maternity(R), Motherhood Maternity(R), A Pea in the Pod(R), and Edamame The Maternity Spa(R) brands into the Middle East. The first Mothers Work branded retail locations in the Middle East are expected to open during 2009.
Under the multi-year franchise agreement, Mothers Work has granted to Multi Trend and its local subsidiaries the exclusive rights to operate branded retail locations and market merchandise under the Company's Destination Maternity(R), Motherhood Maternity(R), A Pea in the Pod(R), and Edamame The Maternity Spa(R) brands in six key markets in the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. Multi Trend will exclusively purchase merchandise from Mothers Work or suppliers designated by Mothers Work. Additional terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Ed Krell, Chief Executive Officer of Mothers Work, commented, "We are very excited to announce this important first step in the international expansion of our business and our brands beyond the United States and Canada. Our new relationship with Multi Trend provides us with a great opportunity to introduce our Destination Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, and Edamame brands to a population of approximately 30 million who reside in these six key markets in the Middle East. The Middle East represents a natural market for us to introduce our brands, since it has some of the highest birth rates, a strong growing economy and a population of new moms-to-be who love to shop and have an ever increasing need for high-quality, fashionable maternity apparel and services. In particular, we believe our Destination Maternity superstores, with their unparalleled breadth of assortment and unique and engaging shopping experience, will be a 'must visit' shopping destination for the expecting Middle Eastern woman, just like they have become for the expecting U.S. woman. With the strength of our brands and our merchandise, combined with the deep retail experience and local knowledge of Multi Trend, we believe that this business will become the leading maternity apparel retailer in the Middle East, just as we are the leading maternity apparel retailer in the United States."
Saleh Yacoub Al-Homaizi, Chairman of Multi Trend, commented, "We are very pleased to introduce the industry-leading Mothers Work maternity brands into these key Middle East markets, which we see as a continuation of the rich tradition of the Al-Homaizi Group in bringing unique products to discerning, fashion-conscious and quality-conscious consumers. During the past one and a half decades, the Al-Homaizi Group has successfully introduced international brands over a range of home, food and apparel product categories, including IKEA, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Appleby's, Custo Barcelona, Cath Kidston, Joe Bloggs, Go Sport, and Courir, in addition to developing local brands in the Middle East. We are confident that the Mothers Work range of maternity apparel merchandise, brands and store concepts will address a huge gap in this segment in the region. As with all our retail businesses, customer satisfaction and total customer experience are of prime importance to our over 5,000 dedicated staff. Mothers Work and Al-Homaizi Group will work closely together to select a product range that will meet the needs and style of moms-to-be in the Middle East taking into account cultural and fashion sensitivities. We expect that the Mothers Work store concepts, including Destination Maternity and A Pea in the Pod, will be the leading shopping destination and experience for maternity apparel in the region."
About Multi Trend and the Al Homaizi Group
Multi Trend, a member of the Al Homaizi Group, is a franchisee in the Middle East for numerous leading lifestyle brands including Custo Barcelona, a Spanish brand of fashion clothing and accessories; Joe Bloggs, a British brand for street-wear clothes; Go Sport, a French sporting goods retailer; and Cath Kidston, a British brand for home accessories. In addition, with operations in the Middle East, Egypt, and the United Kingdom, the Al Homaizi Group is a diversified entity with business interests in retail enterprises including franchisee operations across the following sectors: casual and fine dining (including Burger King, Pizza Hut and Applebee's franchises), food and beverages (including Al Rifai, Scoop a Cone and Boost Juice franchises), and home and office furnishings (through an IKEA franchise).
About Mothers Work, Inc.
Mothers Work is the world's largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel, using its custom TrendTrack(TM) merchandise analysis and planning system as well as its quick response replenishment process to "give the customer what she wants, when she wants it." As of September 30, 2008, Mothers Work operates 1,032 maternity locations, including 754 stores, predominantly under the tradenames Motherhood Maternity(R), A Pea in the Pod(R), Mimi Maternity(R), and Destination Maternity(R), and sells on the web through its DestinationMaternity.com and brand-specific websites. In addition, Mothers Work 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.
Mothers Work ("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 including our international franchising initiatives, 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, 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.
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