A Pea In The Pod

A Pea in the Pod is a U.S. specialty retailer focused on premium maternity apparel and accessories for women before, during, and after pregnancy. The brand now does most of its business online, supported by a small group of concept stores that give shoppers a place to touch and try on elevated maternity fashion, nursing wear, and everyday essentials. Its assortment is aimed at customers who want contemporary, polished styles in maternity-specific fits, along with nursing bras, loungewear, and workwear that carry through the postpartum period.

The concept dates back to 1989, when it was created within what became Destination Maternity, the company behind both A Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity. Over the next two decades, Destination Maternity built one of the largest dedicated maternity platforms in North America, with hundreds of stores across malls, lifestyle centers, and outlets. Within that portfolio, A Pea in the Pod developed as the more fashion-forward, upscale banner, distinct from the value-oriented positioning of Motherhood Maternity.

A major turning point came in 2019, when Destination Maternity filed for Chapter 11 and closed all of its stores, including every A Pea in the Pod location, by year-end. The intellectual property for A Pea in the Pod was acquired by Marquee Brands, a brand-management company that also owns several well-known fashion labels. Under Marquee’s ownership, A Pea in the Pod was relaunched as a leaner, digital-first business built around its ecommerce site, with brick-and-mortar reintroduced on a much more selective basis.

As of August 2023, A Pea in the Pod operated 3 stores, positioned as modern concept boutiques in key urban markets such as New York and Chicago, while serving customers nationwide through ecommerce. These stores function as showrooms where shoppers can try premium denim, dresses, intimates, and curated collections, with the broader assortment fulfilled through the online channel. Over roughly the last five years, the brand has shifted from a broad, mall-heavy national chain to a focused, higher-end maternity label that uses stores strategically rather than as a mass rollout vehicle.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, A Pea in the Pod now represents a small-box, specialty soft-goods tenant with a strong digital presence and a history in traditional retail centers. Its current brick-and-mortar approach favors high-traffic, fashion-oriented trade areas in cities like New York City and Chicago, along with select high-income urban markets where maternity shoppers already visit better women’s apparel and lifestyle destinations. While the store count is modest compared with its pre-2019 footprint, the backing of Marquee Brands and the brand’s appeal to affluent, style-conscious maternity customers give it credibility as a niche fashion tenant that can complement broader women’s and family-focused merchandising in the right project.