An Express store is promoting deep discounts at Valley West Mall in Iowa, in January 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP
hide caption
caption conversion
Andrew Harnik/AP
An Express store is promoting deep discounts at Valley West Mall in Iowa, in January 2020.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Express clothing store, a longtime mainstay of American shopping malls, has filed for bankruptcy protection, closing dozens of stores but is also considering a survival plan that involves selling. .
At its peak, Express outfitted generations of mall shoppers in suits and shirts, even acquiring the Bonobos and UpWest brands.
But the chain is losing both shoppers and money, as many shopping centers fade away and people change the way they dress for work: less formal, more casual, less formal. , more attitude. Express — neither premium nor cheap — was left behind, dragged deeper by rent and debt.
Monday bankruptcy announcement said the chain would close 95 Express stores, or just under a fifth of them, and all 10 UpWest stores. Last month, the New York Stock Exchange delist the retailer because its stock value is weakening.
Now, Express has received an acquisition offer by a consortium. It includes brand management company WHP Global and major shopping center operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties. companies in recent years have been investing IN more retail brands in need resuscitation.
New Express chief executive Stewart Glendinning admitted “mistakes” in clothing choices, “most notably among women, where we lost balance across categories, price points and wearing occasions” , he told investors in November, adding: “We strongly believe there is a path.” to the comprehensive improvement of the company.”
In its bankruptcy filing, Express said it also received $35 million in new financing from several lenders, plus another $49 million from the Internal Revenue Service in connection with the bankruptcy. CARES Actfederal coronavirus relief package.
