Express ran 500 stores on $0.7M operating profit and filed Chapter 11

Express operated more than 500 stores selling mid-market clothing and accessories. In 2021 it reported $1.87 billion in revenue and an operating profit of $0.7 million — a margin so thin that any disruption would tip it into loss. The company acquired UpWest, a direct-to-consumer brand, to diversify, but the acquisition added cost without adding the growth it promised.

By August 2023 Express had announced 150 layoffs and targeted $150 million in annual expense cuts. In October it warned it might file for bankruptcy. In April 2024 it filed for Chapter 11, listing assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. It announced the closure of 95 Express stores and all UpWest locations.

In June 2024 a joint venture called PHOENIX — led by WHP Global, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Properties — bought Express's assets out of bankruptcy. The brand survived; the shareholders and the DTC strategy did not.