Maurices Inc., stylized as maurices, is an American women's clothing retail chain based in

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Founded in 1931 in Duluth, the chain comprises more than 1,000 stores in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, primarily located in

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

s and smaller towns. The founding Labovitz family sold Maurices to the

Brenninkmeijer family Brenninkmeijer (german: Brenninkmeyer) is a Roman Catholic Dutch/German/Swiss family of manufacturers, which own an international chain of clothing stores. Originally the family came from Tecklenburger Land (Westphalia), selling linen in Fri ...

's American Retail Group in 1978. Ascena Retail Group acquired it from American Retail Group in 2005. In 2011, Maurices was rated one of the "Top Ten Best Employers in Retail" by

Forbes.com ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family (publishers), Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing ...

. In March 2019, Ascena sold a majority stake in Maurices to a U.S. subsidiary of London-based private equity firm OpCapita LLP at a valuation of $300 million. Maurices' leadership team remained in place, with the addition of former GAP CEO Jeff Kirwan as the company's new executive chairman. Ascena will retain a minority stake in the company. In a public statement released after the transaction, OpCapita's CEO Henry Jackson said he would “welcome the continued support of Ascena through their retained stake and the range of services they will provide.”

Celebrity endorsements

In November 2011, Maurices announced a cooperation with celebrity designer

Christopher Straub Christopher Straub is a fashion designer who was a contestant on season 6 of the competitive reality show ''Project Runway'' and also appeared on season 1 of the competitive reality show '' Models of the Runway'' as the designer for the model ...

from the reality television show ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mater ...

'' season 6, which aired on

Lifetime Network Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

. The products are labeled Christopher Straub for maurices and were released nationwide on Friday, November 25, 2011. Straub also designed a plush puppy as part of the collection to benefit the American Cancer Society. This cooperation is a follow-up to the maurices Main Street Model Search"Maurices Main Street Model Search"
which occurred earlier in 2011 with Straub.

References

External links

Maurices official website
Clothing retailers of the United States Companies based in Minnesota Retail companies established in 1931 1931 establishments in Minnesota Ascena Retail Group American companies established in 1931 {{US-retail-company-stub