Express files for bankruptcy and will close more than 100 stores, five in Texas

The retailer is being sold to a brand management company that owns Toys R Us, Guess? and Rag & Bone and mall owners Simon and Brookfield, which own Plano-based JCPenney.

FILE - A storefront of Express, Inc. a fashion apparel retailer, shown Wednesday, Jan. 22,... — FILE - A storefront of Express, Inc. a fashion apparel retailer, shown Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2020, in Paradise Valley, Ariz. Express Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as the fashion retailer looks to sell the majority of its stores. Columbus, Ohio-based Express, which is also the parent of Bonbons and Upwest brands, is shuttering a handful of its operations in the process. In an announcement Monday, April 22, 2024, the company said it planned to close 95 of its Express stores and all UpWest stores. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)(Ross D. Franklin / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

3:10 PM on Apr 22, 2024 CDT — Updated at 4:13 PM on Apr 22, 2024 CDT

Express Inc., the clothing retailer that’s a staple in U.S. malls, filed for bankruptcy with plans to sell itself.

The company received an offer from brand manager WHP Global and mall landlords Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Properties to purchase the company’s operations and most of its stores, according to a statement on Monday.

The company will use the bankruptcy process to facilitate the sale. WHP Global, based in New York and backed by Ares Management Corp., owns a portfolio of brands including Toys R Us, Isaac Mizrahi and Rag & Bone. The firm holds a 60% stake in the Express brand through a joint venture formed in 2023.

Columbus, Ohio-based Express plans to close around 95 of its more than 500 retail stores, along with all of its UpWest locations. The UpWest at NorthPark Center in Dallas already closed in early January. The Express store at NorthPark isn’t closing, a spokeswoman said. That store was just recently remodeled.

Five Texas stores are closing:

Dallas – Galleria 13350 Dallas Parkway

Cedar Hill – Hillside Village 305 West FM 1382

Corpus Christi -- La Palmera, 5488 S. Padre Island Dr.

Express Factory Outlets:

San Antonio – Rolling Oaks 6906 N. Loop 1604 E

College Station – Post Oak 1500 Harvey Road

Closing sales began on Tuesday, Express said,. Store employees said the stores will be open for at least 60 days.

The company said in the statement that it will “continue to assess its store footprint” and is working with A&G Realty Partners on that process.

Court papers filed in Delaware listed liabilities and assets of $1 billion to $10 billion each.

The Chapter 11 filing allows Express to continue operating while it works out a way to repay. The retailer arranged $35 million in new financing from existing lenders to fund itself in bankruptcy. It also said it received $49 million from the Internal Revenue Service related to the CARES Act in April.

The more-than 40-year-old company was once a top destination for millennials seeking moderately priced officewear and going-out clothes. But in recent years it’s faced slumping revenues as it struggled to compete with upstart online brands and changing consumer tastes.

Last year, Express said it hired external advisers to help cut costs just weeks after agreeing to buy men’s apparel brand Bonobos Inc. alongside WHP Global. It’s the latest in a long string of retail bankruptcies including 99 Cents Only Stores earlier this month and arts and crafts chain Joann Inc. in March.

Eliza Ronalds-Hannon, Janine Phakdeetham and Claire Boston of Bloomberg. Staff writer Maria Halkias contributed to this report.

X: @MariaHalkias

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