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Apparel retailer Express Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.
Express said in a press release: “We continue to serve our customers in stores and online across Express, Bonobos and UpWest Brads, and plan to conduct business as usual as we work to right-align our lease portfolio and operations.” said.
Brand management company WHP Global and others on Monday sent Express a non-binding letter of intent suggesting they may acquire a “substantial portion” of the business. The retailer said the bankruptcy filing is expected to help that process.
“We are taking important steps to strengthen our financial position and enable Express to continue to advance its business vision,” said Express CEO Stewart Glendinning. “WHP has been a strong partner of our company since 2023 and the proposed transaction will provide us with additional financial resources, better position our business for profitable growth and maximize shareholder value.” I will.”
March 7, 2023 at the Express Store at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Express/Getty Images)
WHP Global, which owns fashion brands such as Toys R Us and Anne Klein, acquired a 7.4% stake in Express last year.
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Express said some of its current lenders have committed new loans worth $35 million to the company. The company said this is in addition to the $49 million that the Internal Revenue Service transferred last week “in connection with the CARES Act.”
March 7, 2023 at the Express Store at American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Express/Getty Images)
The bankruptcy will permanently close approximately 95 Express stores and all UpWest stores. The UpWest brand was launched in 2019.
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Its overall retail store count includes approximately 530 Express-branded stores, as well as approximately 60 Bonobos and 12 UpWest stores.
Stores that are closing soon will begin closing sales on Tuesday.
In its bankruptcy filing, the retailer estimated its assets to be in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion. Estimated liabilities were reported as well.
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Meanwhile, the company has set the number of creditors at between 5,001 and 10,000, according to filings.
Glendinning said in late November that Express was focused on “customer engagement, operational excellence, cost reduction and inventory management” to drive improved performance.
He also said at the time that the company was targeting savings of $200 million by 2025.
Reuters contributed to this report.
