Express will permanently close the doors of over 100 stores across two of its brands.
The planned store closures came amid the clothing retailer’s larger announcement on Monday that it had submitted a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
It asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware to combine its bankruptcy case with those of certain subsidiaries that also sought protection.
The company plans on “continuing to serve customers in store and online across its Express, Bonobos and UpWest brands and expects to conduct business as usual as the company works to right-size its lease portfolio and operations,” according to a press release.
RETAILER EXPRESS FILES FOR CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PROTECTION
The bulk of the closures – 95 – will affect the Express brand.
Express has “faced a challenging commercial environment brought on by both broader economic and retail-specific market pressures” in recent years, according to a bankruptcy-related filing.
The retailer indicated it “will continue to assess its store footprint in connection” to the bankruptcy process.
It also said WHP Global and others had sent it a “non-binding” letter of intent to possibly buy a “substantial majority” of its assets.
95 Express stores closing in 30 states and Washington, D.C.
Express said its customers will see 95 Express locations across the country shutter in total. Here are the states and number of stores closing in each state:
- California – 16
- New York – 11
- New Jersey – 7
- Texas, Florida – 5
- Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois – 4
- Colorado, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts – 3
- Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin – 2
- Arizona, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennesee – 1
UpWest locations on chopping block too
In addition to those 95 stores, each of the UpWest stores that Express has will stop operating, the company said Monday. It lists 10 different UpWest locations online.
They can be found in eight states (Illinois, New York, Minnesota, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, Colorado and Washington) plus the District of Columbia.
The company created the brand in 2019.
