New Jersey-based retail chain Destination Maternity plans to close 201 stores in the U.S., including its location at the Colonial Green Shopping Center in Westport, as it works its way through its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection case.
The chain operates 62 Destination Maternity stores, 799 Motherhood Maternity locations and 40 A Pea in the Pod outlets throughout the country. It said that others could close as it continues going through the Chapter 11 process.
Liquidation sales at the closing locations are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Founded as mail-order catalog business Mothers Work in 1982, the company went public in 1992, and acquired the Motherhood Maternity and A Pea in the Pod brands in 1995.
Destination Maternity”™s move is just the latest in a number of retail firms shuttering locations. According to research firm Coresight, more than 8,600 stores are slated to close in 2019; to date, there have been 48% more store closings announced than in all of 2018.
