Express files for bankruptcy protection and announces store closures – check if your local is shutting down

The planned closures have been spread across 29 states plus Washington, D.C.

These planned closures will comprise 75 typical retail locations and 20 factory-outlet stores.

Closing down sales began yesterday, however Express Inc said it expects to operate the “business as usual”.

The store closings are expected to result in a “substantial number” of employee terminations, the company said.

In a statement they said: “To be clear, [Express intends] to pay [its] terminated employees as expeditiously as possible and under normal payment procedures.”

Under its corporate umbrella, Express Inc also includes Express factory outlets, Bonobos and UpWest stores.

With more than 500 stores, Express Inc continues to be a staple for many people’s wardrobes. The firm will continue to accept orders through each brand's online channels.

The retailer will also fulfil orders, process returns and redeem gift cards and store credits in-store.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said: “With the company struggling to gain traction with consumers, it has been obvious for quite some time that bankruptcy was the inevitable destination for Express.

“The woes at Express are not all of its own making. The formal and smart casual market for both men and women has softened over recent years because of a rise from working from home and the casualization of fashion.

“This puts Express firmly on the wrong side of trends and, in our view, the chain made too little effort to adapt.”

The retailer announced they had received a non-binding letter of intent to potentially purchase the majority of its stores and operations from WHP Global.

Express said that it had filed for Chapter 11 protection “to facilitate the sale process,” and make it easier for the consumer brand acquisition and management firm to make the sale.

Express said the consortium exploring the deal also includes mall operators Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties.

WHP, Simon Property and Brookfield did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday, when contacted by ABC.

Stewart Glendinning, Express Inc. CEO, said in a statement “WHP has been a strong partner to the company since 2023, and the proposed transaction will provide us additional financial resources, better position the business for profitable growth and maximize value for our stakeholders.”

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The company reported nearly $1.2 billion in total debts and $1.3 billion in total assets as of March 2 in its Chapter 11 petition, which was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

Express Inc had previously planned to lay off around 150 employees this year to help the company save $30million but this was only part of the the planned $120 million cost reduction effort.

These cost reduction measures were to begin in 2023 and continue into 2025.

However, by filing for bankruptcy, the company has the opportunity to restructure its operations including renegotiating its many lease agreements that will remain after the closure of some of its stores.

Initially a woman’s fashion brand, Express Inc expanded into men's clothing to appeal to more shoppers.

However, increasing competition from other popular fashion brands like H&M, Zara, as well as the rise of Old Navy and athleisure brands like Lululemon, all hurt the brand's sales, Saunders said.

Full list of stores closing down:

• 3111 W. Chandler Blvd., Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler Fashion)
• 224 Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, Calif. (Los Cerritos)
• 234 Stonewood St., Downey, Calif. (Stonewood)
• 5680 Bay Street, Emeryville, Calif. (Bay Street)
• 200 E. Via Rancho Pkwy, Escondido, Calif. (North County Fair)
• 645 Shaw Ave., Fresno, Calif. (Fresno Fashion Fair)
• 500 Lakewood Blvd, Lakewood, Calif. (Lakewood)
• 2149 Montclair Plaza, Montclair, Calif. (Montclair Plaza)
• 22500 Town Circle, Moreno Valley, Calif. (Moreno Valley)
• 3030 Plaza Bonita Rd., National City, Calif. (Plaza Bonita)
• 1640 Camino Del Rio N., San Diego, Calif. (Mission Valley)
• 4485 La Jolla Village Dr., San Diego, Calif. (University Town Ctr.)
• 2800 N. Main St., Santa Ana, Calif. (Mainplace Mall)
• 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara, Calif. (Valley Fair Mall)
• 14006 Riverside Dr., Sherman Oaks, Calif. (Sherman Oaks Fashion Square)
• 202 W. Hillcrest Dr., Thousand Oaks, Calif. (The Oaks)
• 24201 Valencia Blvd., Valencia, Calif. (Valencia Town Center)
• One West Flatiron Drive, Broomfield, Colo. (Flatiron Crossing)
• 500 16th St., Denver, Colo. (Denver Pavilions)
• 5971 Sky Pond Dr., Loveland, Colo. (Shops at Centerra)
• 7 Backus Ave., Danbury, Conn. (Danbury Fair)
• 181 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich, Conn. (Greenwich Avenue)
• 125 W. Main St., Westport, Conn. (Main Street–Westport)
• 19501 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura, Fla. (Aventura Mall)
• 27001 U.S. Highway 19 N, Clearwater, Fla. (Countryside Mall)
• 401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, Fla. (Bayside)
• 904 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach, Fla. (Lincoln Road)
• 8021 Citrus Park, Tampa, Fla. (Citrus Park Twn Ctr)
• 1174 N Point Pkwy, Alpharetta, Ga. (North Point)
• 230 18th St., Atlanta, Ga. (Atlantic Station)
• 400 Ernest W. Barrett Pkwy, Kennesaw, Ga. (Town Center at Cobb)
• Moanalua Road, Honolulu, Hawaii (Pearlridge)
• 17 N. State St., Chicago, Ill. (State Street)
• 655 W. Diversey Pkwy., Chicago, Ill. (West Diversey Street)
• 134 St. Claire Sq., Fairview Heights, Ill. (St. Clair Square)
• 3333 W. Touhy Ave., Lincolnwood, Ill. (Lincolnwood Twn Ctr)
• 2121 Southlake Mall, Merrillville, Ind. (Southlake Mall)
• 11160 Veirs Mill Rd., Wheaton, Md. (Wheaton)
• 109 Newbury St., Boston, Mass. (Newbury Street)
• 20-36 District Ave., Dorchester, Mass. (South Bay)
• 104B N. Dartmouth Mall, North Dartmouth, Mass. (North Dartmouth)
• 14600 Lakeside Cir., Sterling Heights, Mich. (Lakeside)
• 4101 W. Division St., Saint Cloud, Minn. (Crossroads Center)
• 7120, Nw 86 Terr., Kansas City, Mo. (Zona Rosa)
• 414 Gateway Mall, Lincoln, Neb. (Westfield Gateway)
• 1300 Sunset Rd., Henderson, Nev. (Galleria At Sunset)
• 1750 Deptford Center Rd., Deptford Township, N.J. (Deptford Mall)
• 3710 Route 9, Freehold, N.J. (Freehold Raceway)
• 4403 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, N.J. (Mall at Hamilton Center)
• 110 Garden State Plaza, Paramus, N.J. (Garden State)
• 250 Woodbridge Ctr. Dr., Woodbridge, N.J. (Woodbridge)
• 1701 Sunrise Hwy., Bayshore, N.Y. (Southshore)
• 26th Avenue and Bell Blvd, Bayside, N.Y. (Bay Terrace)
• 5036 Kings Plaza, Brooklyn, N.Y. (Kings Plaza)
• 129 5th Ave., New York, N.Y. (Flatiron–Fifth Avenue)
• 514 Broadway, New York, N.Y. (Broadway–Soho)
• 1552 North Broadway, New York, N.Y. (Times Square)
• 3513 Long Beach Rd., Oceanside, N.Y. (The Sands)
• 2034 Green Acres Mall, Valley Stream, N.Y. (Green Acres Mall)
• 5130 Xavier Dr., Yonkers, N.Y. (Cross Country)
• 6801 Northlake Mall Dr., Charlotte, N.C. (Northlake)
• 3320 Silas Creek Pkwy., Winston-Salem, N.C. (Hanes Mall)
• 7540 Bales St., Liberty Township, Ohio (Liberty Center)
• 5001 Monroe, Toledo, Ohio (Franklin Park)
• 1521 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. (Walnut Street)
• 400 Bald Hill Rd., Warwick, R.I. (Warwick)
• 1800 Galleria Blvd., Franklin, Tenn. (Cool Springs)
• 305 West Fm 1382, Cedar Hill, Texas (Hillside Village)
• 5488 S. Padre Island Dr., Corpus Christi, Texas (La Palmera)
• 13350 Dallas Pkwy., Dallas, Texas (Dallas Galleria)
• 4802 Valley View Blvd., Roanoke, Va. (Valley View Mall)
• 21100 Dulles Town Ctr., Sterling, Va. (Dulles Town Center)
• 8700 N.E. Vancouver Mall Dr., Vancouver, Wash. (Vancouver)
• 555 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C. (F Street)
• 89 East Towne Mall, Madison, Wis. (East Towne Mall)
• Express Factory Outlet stores
• 194 Buckland Hills Drive #2500, Manchester, Conn. (Buckland Hills)
• 800 Steven B. Tanger Blvd., Commerce, Ga. (Commerce Outlets)
• 800 N. Green River Rd., Evansville, Ind. (Eastland Mall)
• 4444 1st Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Lindale)
• 320 W. Kimberly Rd., Davenport, Iowa (Northpark)
• 150 Tanger Dr., Williamsburg, Iowa (Williamsburg)
• 355 Boardwalk Blvd., Bossier City, La. (Louisiana Boardwalk)
• 8200 Perry Hall Blvd., Baltimore, Md. (White Marsh)
• 2300 North Salisbury Blvd., Salisbury, Md. (Centre At Salisbury)
• 6650 Westnedge Ave., Portage, Mich. (Crossroads Mall)
• 2 Common Ct., North Conway, N.H. (Settlers Green)
• 112 Eisenhower Pkwy., Livingston, N.J. (Livingston Mall)
• 400 New Jersey 38, Moorestown, N.J. (Moorestown)
• 490 Fulton St., Brooklyn, N.Y. (Fulton Street)
• 1 Sangertown Sq., New Hartford, N.Y. (Sangertown Square)
• 901 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa. (Fashion District Philadelphia)
• 1500 Harvey Rd., College Station, Texas (Post Oak)
• 6906 N. Loop 1604 E, San Antonio, Texas (Rolling Oaks)
• 4750 Division St., Spokane, Wash. (Northtown)
• 210 N. Gasser Rd., Baraboo, Wis. (Outlets at the Dells)
• For the company’s UpWest stores, there were 10 listed on the company website:
• 356 Santana Row, Suite 6002, San Jose, Calif. (Santana Row)
• 1430 Pearl St., Boulder, Colo. (Pearl Street)
• 924 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago, Ill. (Lincoln Park)
• 172 Newbury St., Boston, Mass. (Newbury Street)
• 130 South Ave., Bloomington, Minn. (Mall of America)
• 630 Old Country Rd., Suite 1085, Garden City, N.Y. (Roosevelt Field Mall)
• 107 Spring St., New York, N.Y. (SoHo)
• 1961 Chain Bridge Rd., Tysons, Va. (Tyson’s Corner Center)
• 575 Bellevue Sq., Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue Square)
• 3110 M St., Washington, D.C. (M Street)