Motherhood Maternity To Close White Marsh Store

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — A company specializing in maternity wear plans to close more than 100 stores across the country as it undergoes Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Destination Maternity Corporation — which includes subsidiaries Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity — is closing stores as it restructures its business, right-sizing its brick-and-mortar footprint.

One of the stores slated for closure is in Motherhood Maternity located within The Avenue at White Marsh, according to court filings. The 1,486-square-foot shop at the shopping center on Honeygo Boulevard is set to close by the end of the year.

Liquidation sales will continue until the business shutters. No purchases will be returnable.

In Maryland, the company reportedly plans to close three stores, including the one near Perry Hall:

• Motherhood Maternity, The Avenue at White Marsh
• Motherhood Maternity, Towson Town Center
• Motherhood Maternity, Westfield Annapolis

The majority of the company's stores will remain open; it has 436 stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Because of insufficient funds, it reported it did not pay rent at any of the 436 stores for the month of October.

The company also runs 423 leased departments (or stores within stores) in the United States and Canada, such as Motherhood Maternity in Macy's, which will continue.

It has 3,200 employees, of whom 1,000 are full-time and 2,200 are part-time. It plans to continue paying its workers through the Chapter 11 restructuring.

As part of the Chapter 11 proceedings, bids for the company must be submitted by Dec. 5, an auction will be held Dec. 9 and the bankruptcy court must approve the sale by Dec. 12. The New Jersey-based company filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware.

Factors Contributing To Chapter 11

According to the Chapter 11 declaration filed in October, parent company Destination Maternity Corporation has struggled recently, after hitting a peak in 2011.

In the past five years, its revenue has gone down 33 percent.

Bankruptcy filings cited a decrease in birth rates as well retail trends as factors in its declining revenue.

One quarter of Destination Maternity's sales (including all of its brands) are online, according to court filings.

Despite less foot traffic overall in brick-and-mortar stores, the company says it pays above-market rent in a significant number of locations. As a result, it planned to close stores in these areas that were underperforming.

Motherhood Maternity will close its shop on The Avenue at White Marsh, although its lease there was set to continue through February 2021, according to court documents. It opened in 1981, bankruptcy filings said.

Competition has come from other clothing options, too, court filings said, since "recent non-maternity women's apparel fashion trends have a more pregnancy-friendly fit," such as knit elastic-waist bottoms, maxi dresses and oversized peasant tops. Having such flexible options available for much of their pregnancy means women need maternity wear for less time.

Within Destination Maternity Corporation, leadership has been a challenge. Because the company handles three brands operating separately, there is a level of operational complexity that has been exacerbated by Destination Maternity having five CEOs in the past five years, according to court documents.