Mothers Work Adds Spas

Another will open at the Destination Maternity store in Natick, MA this Friday, Jan. 26, and a third, on Feb. 3 at Destination Maternity in White Plains, NY. "A few more will be added this year," Mona Astra Liss, publicity director, tells GSR, without disclosing specific locations. There are currently seven Destination Maternity superstores, a format of between 5,000 and 10,000 sf that contains all three Mothers Work's brands of maternity apparel and made its debut in third-quarter 2004.

Edamame, which takes its name from a soy bean pod, is the creation of Mothers Work. Edamame spas have a private entrance featuring a waterfall. Customers in this area, which is described as a Zen retreat, are given tea and a robe. The spa is staffed by "certified and specialized massage therapists and estheticians," according to Liss.

Services include four different facials, priced at between $86 and $98; eight body treatments, including therapeutic massages specifically aimed at relieving lower back and hip discomfort, for $98; and a range of "enhancements," such as lip-nourishing, and eye- and neck-firming, which are priced between $23 and $40 per treatment.

Treatments span the before, during, and after phases of pregnancy, with the latter designed to relieve stress and build energy. Among the third-phase services are an anti-aging body treatment and an anti-cellulite treatment, each for $109. A 15%-gratuity is included in all spa prices.

Edamame Maternity Spa joins additional enhancements Mothers Work incorporated into its Destination Maternity locations. These stores also contain a learning studio with free classes in meditation, yoga, prenatal care, belly dancing and other activities; play areas for tots, a children's entertainment area, plasma televisions for spouses, a reading room stocked with books and magazines, vitamin and fertility items, and a section of skincare products. They also have a full complement of Motherhood Maternity, Mimi Maternity, and A Pea in a Pod apparel brands, spanning the company's moderate, middle, and upper-end collections, respectively.

"New studies have shown that stress during pregnancy can have an adverse effect on the baby," says Rebecca Matthias, founder and president of Mothers Work. "Relaxing new moms is vital to keeping them emotionally balanced and feeling healthy."

The spa business is experiencing unit growth of approximately 25% a year, according to Lexington, KY-based International Spa Association. Matthias says Edamame is the only one catering specifically to the maternity market.

The objective is to create "more than a place to purchase maternity essentials," according to Matthias, but "a total lifestyle and shopping experience . . . that celebrates the most special nine months in a woman's life."

Last November, Mothers Work struck deals with Sears and Kohl's to provide separate proprietary brands in those retailers' respective 645 and 637 stores nationwide, adding 1,282 retail doors to the company's own approximately 1,100 units nationwide. Christina de Marval, research analyst at Sidoti & Co., which is based in New York, estimates that Mothers Work has a 40%-share of the maternity apparel market, which represents a steady 1% of the total US population at any given time.

During the last half of 2004, Mothers Work same-store sales slipped. More than 1,000 new doors began offering maternity apparel last year, Ed Tress, VP of retail for Mothers Work, told GSR in an earlier interview. Kohl's was among them, a competitor that has now turned into a partner. Of Destination Maternity's attempts to add "experiences" to product offerings, de Marval said, "strategically, this is smart."