Mothers Work Never Ends

Mothers Work Inc. (Philadelphia) plans to test a 4000-square-foot maternity apparel “superstore” to answer growing competition in its market.

“As part of our strategy to maintain and enhance our leadership position in the U.S. maternity apparel business and to continue to differentiate ourselves from the competition,” says Rebecca Matthias, president and coo, “we are testing several new multi-brand store concepts that are larger and have higher sales volumes than our average store, and provide the opportunity to better leverage store operating expenses.”

As an example, Matthias notes that in November 2003, the company opened a 3000-square-foot store on Madison Avenue at 45th Street in New York under the Mimi Maternity brand that carries products bearing both the Mimi and Motherhood labels.

“We are pleased with the initial results of both brands in this store. In March, we will be opening an approximately 4000-square-foot test maternity 'superstore' that will include all three of our brands plus a greatly expanded line of nursing accessories, fertility-related products and maternity-related exercise gear, books, and body and nutritional products. This test store will also have a dedicated area where we can hold classes related to fertility, nutrition, birthing, nursing and exercise.”

Overall, the company plans to open 80 to 100 new retail locations in the coming year.

The retailer also reported that its net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 totaled $2.1 million, down from $3.6 million a year earlier, and that sales for the period rose to $131.7 million, up from $126.3 million.