Marking a unique deal in the DTC space, Marquee Brands has given North American operational control of its Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity brands to Hatch CEO and founder Ariane Goldman.
Marquee will retain ownership over the intellectual property of Motherhood Maternity, A Pea in the Pod and Destination Maternity, according to an interview with Goldman. As a result of the deal, a new parent company dubbed Hatch Collective has been formed, led by Goldman. Marquee has also provided a minority investment to Hatch Collective and has gained a board seat with the newly created entity.
Marquee Brands in 2019 won a $50 million proposal to buy Destination Maternity's intellectual property and other assets, as well as liquidate the retailer’s stand-alone stores, after the maternity brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The newly formed Hatch Collective, under Goldman’s leadership, aims to be a “destination for every mother’s needs across channel, category, price point, and during every stage of pregnancy and beyond,” per the release.
“It’s been impossible to ignore Hatch’s pioneering influence in the maternity category, they’ve become a powerful voice and captivating destination for mothers,” Marquee Brands President Heath Golden said in a statement. “As a brand owner, we seek best-in-class operating partners for our brands. Ariane Goldman has built an extraordinary brand and team and we are overjoyed to have her at the helm of Marquee’s heritage maternity brands to take them to new heights; we share the same spirit of dedication to motherhood.”
In an interview with Retail Dive, Goldman said that the deal to consolidate the various maternity brands came up as a way to reach profitability quicker.
“I think over the years, [Marquee’s] brands have been losing a little touch between product and customer ... And so when we met them and we were talking about how we can work together and make sense of all of us talking to a pregnant consumer ... there's a lot of ways that when we combine our entity, we're going to be profitable much quicker,” Goldman said. “I'm going to put our magic on these legacy brands so that we can make them modern, grow the business and connect again to the consumer that I think they've detached from recently.”
At a time when DTC brands are facing a tough landscape for funding, Goldman is aware that profitability has come more into focus.
“I'm so proud that we took it over the line and closed this deal,” Goldman said. “The market was quite different than it was today. We entered at the height when perception was valued on growth and brand equity, and then it very quickly turned into profitability and a lot less people are interested in making any investments, regardless of category or brand.”
