Express Provides Business and Store Reopening Updates
July 10 2020 - 6:45AM
Business Wire
95% of the Company’s Stores Are Open and
Showing Sequential Improvement
E-Commerce Demand Was Positive in the Month
of June
Fashion apparel retailer Express, Inc. (NYSE: EXPR) today
provided an update on its current business and latest store
reopening plans.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200710005084/en/
Express storefront at Easton Town Center
in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo: Business Wire)
“While the recovery of our industry will clearly take some time,
our strategic transformation remains on track. The majority of our
stores are now reopened, traffic and sales have steadily improved
and our e-Commerce demand was positive in the month of June,” said
Tim Baxter, Chief Executive Officer. “We are encouraged by our
customers’ response to the new Express product vision and brand
positioning, and remain focused on what we can control as we
continue to drive the Expressway Forward strategy and advance
towards our long term objective of profitable growth.”
“As we began the first quarter and launched our strategic
transformation, we had significantly reduced our inventory levels
in order to reposition our assortments to reflect our new product
edit for the Spring season,” Baxter continued. “At the onset of the
pandemic, we further reduced receipts by more than $100M which
negatively impacted our ability to do that. We will continue to
take the decisive and appropriate actions necessary to ensure
sufficient liquidity throughout the duration of the pandemic and
resulting economic uncertainty.”
The EXPRESSway Forward Strategy
The Company unveiled a comprehensive strategy at the New York
Stock Exchange in late January of this year called The EXPRESSway
Forward, and was in the early stages of a transformation when the
pandemic struck and forced the closure of stores and offices just
six weeks later. The Company already had a number of important
initiatives underway in support of its four foundational pillars of
Product, Brand, Customer, and Execution, and the business had begun
to show positive signs of a turnaround.
Store Reopening & Digital Business Update
As of July 5th, the Company has reopened approximately 95% of
its stores and expects to open the remaining stores in the coming
weeks. All openings have been in accordance with the latest federal
and state guidelines, and with adherence to recommended health and
safety protocols. As part of the reopening process, the Company has
enabled ship from store capabilities in over 330 locations to
support online demand. In addition, the Company has enabled buy
online pick-up in store capabilities in over 275 stores and plans
to have all retail stores enabled by the end of the third
quarter.
With each successive wave of store openings, sales and traffic
improved steadily week over week through the third week in June,
with sales outpacing traffic due to higher conversion levels.
Comparable sales for open stores sequentially improved from down
over 50% in early May to approximately negative 15% by the third
week in June. Traffic also improved, from approximately negative
65% in early May to approximately negative 30% by the third week in
June. As COVID-19 cases began to spike in several states in late
June, the Company saw declines in both sales and traffic in
Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, which were significant
enough to impact total results.
Results in stores have been negatively impacted by multiple
factors, including reduced mall traffic due to COVID-19 and the
cancellation of June and July product, the latter causing the
assortments to not yet be fully reflective of the Company’s new
vision but deemed prudent in order to effectively manage
liquidity.
The Company has continued to see improvement in online sales and
traffic on its website and mobile app which reflects positive
consumer response to the new product. Digital demand has improved
throughout the quarter and delivered a positive comp in June due to
an increase in both traffic and conversion. Digital penetration to
the total has remained elevated even as stores have reopened.
Updated information on open store locations and hours of
operation are available at www.express.com.
About Express, Inc.
Express is a modern, versatile, dual gender apparel and
accessories brand that helps people get dressed for every day and
any occasion. Launched in 1980 with the idea that style, quality
and value should all be found in one place, Express has always been
a brand of the now, offering some of the most important and
enduring fashion trends. Express aims to Create Confidence &
Inspire Self-Expression through a design & merchandising view
that brings forward The Best of Now for Real Life Versatility.
The company operates over 500 retail and factory outlet stores
in the United States and Puerto Rico, as well as an online store.
Express, Inc. is traded on the NYSE under the symbol EXPR. For more
information, please visit www.express.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking
statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements include any statement that does not directly relate to
any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements are
based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not
prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are
subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that
are difficult to predict, and significant contingencies, many of
which are beyond the Company's control. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from these
forward-looking statements are detailed in the Company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 1, 2020. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future
events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200710005084/en/
Investors: Dan Aldridge daldridge@express.com (614) 474-4890
Media: Alysa Spittle aspittle@express.com (614) 474-4745
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