Express, Inc.

Express, Inc.[5] is an American fashion retailer whose portfolio includes Express, Bonobos and UpWest. It operates an omnichannel platform as well as physical and online stores.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio,[1] and trading on the OTC Pink under the symbol EXPR, it operates more than 500 stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador and Guatemala.[2]

History

Limited Brands opened the first Express store in 1980[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 $1million 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]

Design studio

Express clothes are designed at the Express Design Studio on 111 Fifth Avenue, New York City, in Manhattan's Flatiron District.[34]

External links