Profile: Express Inc (EXPR.K)

Express, Inc. ( Express) is a specialty apparel and accessory retailer offering both women's and men's merchandise. The Company operates in brick and mortar retail stores and the express.com e-commerce Website. The Company offers its customers an assortment of fashionable apparel and accessories to address fashion needs across multiple aspects of their lifestyles, including work, casual, jeanswear, and going-out occasions. During the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012 (fiscal 2011), the Company opened its stores in Canada. As of January 28, 2012, it operated 609 stores in 47 states across the United States, as well as in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and two provinces in Canada. These include 576 dual-gender stores, 20 women's stores, and 13 men's stores.

The Company’s stores are located primarily in shopping malls, lifestyle centers, and street locations across the United States, in Canada, and in Puerto Rico, and average approximately 8,700 gross square feet. The Company also sells its products through its e-commerce Website, express.com. During fiscal 2011, it opened 27 Company-operated stores, including six stores in Canada, and closed nine stores. Express owns interests in Express Topco LLC (Express Topco).

The Company distributes finished products from third-party distribution centers in Columbus and Groveport, Ohio. The Columbus facility is approximately 381,000 square feet and is operated under a long-term logistics services agreement with an affiliate of Limited Brands. The third-party distribution facility in Groveport is used to fulfill all orders placed through its Website. The facility is owned and operated by an affiliate of Golden Gate. As of January 28, 2012, there were seven Express stores in the Middle East. It offers a private-label credit card through an agreement with World Financial Network National Bank (WFNNB) under which WFNNB owns the credit card accounts and Alliance Data Systems Corporation provides services to its private-label credit card customers. During fiscal 2011, it piloted a tender agnostic loyalty program, Express NEXT, in approximately 90 stores across the United States. The Company develops four seasonal collections per year and then subdivide them so that it has monthly product introductions in its stores.