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Thyme Maternity

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Lee-RI-Canada (talk | contribs) at 03:11, 2 June 2020 (Stores closing announcement). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Thyme Maternity
IndustryApparel
FounderMax Konisberg (Shirmax)
Herman Reitman (Reitmans)
Headquarters250 Sauve West Montreal Quebec H3l 1Z2,
Montreal
,
Canada
Number of locations
139
Area served
Canada and the U.S.
Key people
Jeremy Reitman
Steven Reitman
Walther Lamothe
Jon Plens
Roxanne Liboiron
ProductsTrendy maternity fashions and nursing essentials
ParentReitmans
Websitethymematernity.com

Thyme Maternity is Canada’s largest maternity fashion retailer, and it is owned by Reitmans, a publicly traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RET, RET-A). Thyme Maternity sells trendy maternity fashions and nursing essentials through their locations in Canada, the United States and their website.

History

Early history

Reitmans had its beginnings in the early 1900s when Herman and Sarah Reitman ran a small department store in Montreal. The Reitmans Company was founded after a second store opened in 1926. Since then, a number of stores have opened every year, and other banners have emerged, namely Smart Set, RW&CO., Penningtons, Addition Elle and Thyme Maternity.

In June, 2002, Reitmans acquired Shirmax Fashions Ltd.,[1] which operated 109 Addition Elle stores and 66 Thyme Maternity stores.

Partner relationships

In September 2011, Thyme Maternity opened 10 shop-in-shops [2] in select Babies"R"Us locations in Canada as well as launched online sales of their maternity offering on babiesrus.ca. There are currently 23 of these shops in operation in Canada.

In September 2012, Thyme Maternity opened 150 shop-in-shop locations in select Babies"R"Us locations throughout the U.S. as well as launched online sales on babiesrus.com. There are currently over 160 of these shops in operation in the United States.

In 2013, Thyme partnered with Baby Buggy, a nonprofit organization founded by Jessica Seinfeld. Baby Buggy provides essential maternity and baby-related items to families in need. Through this partnership, Thyme donated maternity and nursing clothing to pregnant women and new moms in the United States.

Photography

Thyme uses real pregnant models in all of its photography.

Store Closures

On June 1, 2020, Reitmans announced it was closing all its women’s Thyme Maternity and Addition Elle stores in the country over the summer as well as chopping its workforce by about 1,100 employees in its retail stores and about 300 employees at its head office in Montreal as part of its restructuring plan under the protection of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. The stores scheduled for closure include 77 Addition Elle and 54 Thyme Maternity locations. The company said it is optimizing its retail footprint as it is building its future on its legacy in retail fashion with three premium brands: Reitmans, Penningtons, and RW & CO.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Reitmans Shirmax Fashion A Merger". CBC News. April 2, 2002. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  2. ^ Marowits, Ross. [1], Huffington Post, Canada, 20 September 2012. Retrieved on 14 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Reitmans Permanently Shutting All 131 Addition Elle and Thyme Maternity Storefronts Amid Restructuring". RETAIL INSIDER. Retrieved 2020-06-02.