Express, Inc.

Express, Inc.
Company typePublic
OTC Pink: EXPR
NYSE: EXPR
IndustryRetail
Founded1980; 45 years ago (1980)[1] (as Limited Express)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
HeadquartersColumbus, Ohio, U.S.
Number of locations
500+ (2021)[2]
Areas served
United States, Canada (online only), Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador
Key people
Stewart Glendinning (CEO)
Products
RevenueIncrease US$1.87 billion (2021)[3][4]
US$ 0.7 million (2021)
US$ -14.4 million (2021)
Total assetsUS$ 1.25 billion (2021)
Number of employees
10,000 (2021)
SubsidiariesExpress

UpWest

Bonobos
Websiteexpress.com

upwest.com

bonobos.com
An Express store

Express, Inc.[5] is an American fashion retailer whose portfolio includes Express, Bonobos and UpWest. The company operates an omnichannel platform as well as physical and online stores. The company consists of the brands Express, Bonobos, and UpWest, and is traded on the OTC Pink under the symbol EXPR.

The company is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.[1] Express, INC operates 500+ stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala.[2]

History

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Limited Brands, in 1980, opened the first Express store,[6] as women's clothier "Limited Express" in Chicago's Water Tower Place.[7] The store leaned heavily into the colorful trends of the 1980s as well as a faux French aesthetic.[8] Former CEO Michael Weiss joined the brand in 1981 when the test expanded to include eight stores. The store dropped Limited from its name the following year.[9]

By 1986, Express had 250 stores and began to transition away from neon lights, artificial fabrics, and bright colors.[9] It started testing the sale of men's merchandise in 15 stores the following year.[10] The men's fashion line was spun off into its own brand, Structure, in 1989.[11] By 1991, Express had 600 stores and exceeded $1 billion in profit.[9]

In 2001, Express became a dual gender brand with the reintegration of its Structure stores as "Express Men".[11] Dual gender Express stores began opening the following year. Structure apparel brand was sold to Sears in 2003.[12]

Express brought in $1.7 billion in net sales in 2006.[6] In May 2007, Limited Brands announced its intent to sell a 67% stake in Express to an affiliate of a private equity firm called Golden Gate Capital Partners, based in San Francisco.[6] When the sale was finalized in July 2007, Golden Gate's paid $484.9 million for a 75% stake in the company.[13]

By January 2010, the company had 573 stores and generated $1.72 billion in net sales the year prior. The company held an IPO in May 2010, ultimately pricing its shares below the expected range.[13][14][15] Soon after, Golden Gate and Limited Brands began divesting from the company.[16][17] In July 2011, Limited Brands sold its remaining ownership interest.[18] In March 2012, Golden Gate sold its remaining ownership interest.

By 2014, sales had been down over the previous two years. In June, Sycamore Partners announced it had acquired a 10% stake in Express, with the intention of buying the whole company.[19] However, by January 2015, Sycamore had ended its pursuit.[20]

In November 2019, Express announced spinoff UpWest, a DTC lifestyle brand geared towards health, wellness, and sustainability. With the launch of UpWest also came its philanthropic arm, The UpWest Foundation, which will donate 1% of total sales up to $1 million towards Mental Health America, Random Acts and Freedom Dogs of America.[21]

In April 2023, Express, Inc and management firm WHP Global agreed to acquire Bonobos from Walmart for $75 million, with Express paying royalties to WHP.[22]

Bankruptcy

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In August 2023, Express announced it would be laying off 150 workers in effort to achieve $150 million in annualized expense reductions by the end of 2025.[23] On October 24, 2023, Express warned that it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it has been hit hard from the COVID-19 pandemic, stating store sales have been declining for years and rising costs putting the company in heavy debt.[24]

In February 2024, Express warned it was preparing for a debt restructuring process and a bankruptcy filing within the upcoming weeks, and had hired M3 and Kirkland & Ellis to advise the company on discussions with lenders and bondholders.[25]

On April 2, 2024, Express warned that it could file for bankruptcy as soon as the following week as it asked for lenders to help finance the bankruptcy procedure. It was having trouble paying its creditors. As a result, Express' stock fell approximately 14%.[26][27] On April 22, 2024, Express and all of its affiliated subsidiaries declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion.[28] The company announced plans to close 95 Express stores and all of its UpWest stores. Liquidation sales began on April 23, with the affected stores concluding liquidation sales by June 30. The company also received a non-binding letter from WHP Global for the sale of most of its stores, operations, and assets.[29] That same day, Express announced that it would sell itself in Chapter 11 to a group led by Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties, and also warned that more closures could come within weeks.[30]

On April 23, 2024, Express warned that it could be forced to liquidate if it is unable to complete a proposed buyout within the next 30 days.[31]

In June 2024, PHOENIX, a joint venture led by WHP Global, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Properties, received court approval to acquire Express's operations.[32]

Design studio

[edit]

Express clothes are designed at the Express Design Studio on 111 Fifth Avenue New York City, New York in Manhattan's Flatiron District.[33]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Shop Men's and Women's Clothing". Express. Archived from the original on 2014-07-20. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
  2. ^ a b "Inline XBRL Viewer". Archived from the original on 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Express, Inc. (EXPR) Income Statement - Yahoo Finance". Archived from the original on 2020-06-14. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  5. ^ "Terms & Conditions". www.express.com. September 30, 2019. Archived from the original on 2020-09-06. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  6. ^ a b c REED, MATT (2007-05-15). "Limited to Sell Most of Express Brand". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  7. ^ "The Express Way". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  8. ^ Schiro, Anne-Marie (1989-12-31). "Fashion; Two New Stores That Cruise Fashion's Fast Lane". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  9. ^ a b c Strom, Stephanie (1992-04-21). "Chain Takes Fashion Tongue-in-Chic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  10. ^ Ap (1987-05-19). "Limited to Sell Men's Clothing". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  11. ^ a b Palmieri, Jean E. (2010-09-16). "The Guys Have It". WWD. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  12. ^ "Sears Buys Structure Apparel Brand - Los Angeles Times". Articles.latimes.com. 2003-09-16. Archived from the original on 2014-03-29. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
  13. ^ a b "Apparel Retailer Express Prices 16 Mln IPO At $17/share, Below Estimated Range - Update". RTTNews. May 12, 2010. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  14. ^ Dealbook (2010-02-17). "Retailer Express Eyes $200 Million I.P.O." DealBook. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  15. ^ Dealbook (2010-05-13). "Express Prices I.P.O. Below Expected Range". DealBook. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  16. ^ Feran, Tim (December 7, 2011). "16M shares of stock in Express will be sold". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  17. ^ Meikle, Brad (2011-03-22). "Golden Gate To Sell Shares In Express Inc". Buyouts. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  18. ^ "Description of Business and Basis of Presentation". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  19. ^ Merced, Michael J. de la (2014-06-12). "Sycamore Takes 10% Stake in Express and Seeks a Deal". DealBook. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  20. ^ Alden, William (2015-01-20). "Sycamore Partners Ends Effort to Acquire Express, a Clothing Retailer". DealBook. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  21. ^ Moore, Kaleigh. "Express Launches UpWest, A New Lifestyle Spinoff Brand". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-11-15. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  22. ^ Edelson, Sharon. "WHP Global And Express Inc. Aquire Bonobos For A Combined $75 Million". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-05-20.
  23. ^ Delesline III, Nate (August 18, 2023). "Express plans layoffs, reverse stock split". Retail Dive. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  24. ^ Kline, Daniel (October 24, 2023). "Popular mall retailer facing potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy". TheStreet. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  25. ^ "Express Prepares for Debt Restructuring and Possible Bankruptcy Within Weeks". The Wall Street Journal. February 12, 2024. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  26. ^ Fonrouge, Gabrielle (2024-04-04). "Retailers like Peloton and Saks keep paying vendors late, signaling possible 'financial distress'". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  27. ^ "Retailer Express Holds Talks for Bankruptcy Financing". Bloomberg. April 2, 2024. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  28. ^ Bhatnagar, Parija (2024-04-22). "Express files for bankruptcy; closing more than 100 stores | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  29. ^ "Apparel retailer Express files for US bankruptcy protection, to close over 100 stores". Reuters. April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  30. ^ Moss, Linda (April 22, 2024). "Express Is Closing Over 100 Stores as Mall Titans Simon, Brookfield Seek To Buy Its Assets". CoStar. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  31. ^ Randles, Jonathan (April 23, 2024). "Express Risks Liquidation If Buyout Deal Can't Be Reached Soon". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  32. ^ Baker, Ryan (July 10, 2024). "How bankruptcy saved Express". CNBC. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  33. ^ "Explore Design Studio Job Opportunities at Express, Apply Online". Express.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
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