From the oklahoman today,




Express files for bankruptcy, plans to close 100 stores. Will OKC or Tulsa be affected?
Richard Mize
The Oklahoman

An Express store in Bensalem, Pennsylvania that closed in a previous round of cost cutting by the chain.
Express, the national fashion retailer, filed for bankruptcy protection Monday and said it would close nearly 100 stores, but none in Oklahoma. The chain has stores in three of the state's biggest malls, Penn Square Mall, Quail Springs Mall in OKC, and Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa.

The chain, based in Columbus, Ohio, said it made the Chapter 11 filing in preparation for a sale supervised by the bankruptcy court, and that it would not affect e-commerce sales − online or by app.

Express said it has potential buyers in a consortium led by WHP Global with others including Simon Property Group LP and Brookfield Properties that have expressed interest in "a substantial majority" of the company’s retail stores and operations. Simon Property Group owns Penn Square and Woodland Hills Mall. Brookfield owns Quail Springs.


Express store chain needs to change with the times, but it may be too late, an OKC retail property specialist says
Express said it has work to do.

“We continue to make meaningful progress refining our product assortments, driving demand, connecting with customers and strengthening our operations,” said CEO Stewart Glendinning. “We are taking an important step that will strengthen our financial position and enable Express to continue advancing our business initiatives."


It needs to, said Jim Parrack, senior vice president and retail specialist at OKC commercial property brokerage Price Edwards & Co.

"Express is one of those fashion retailers that just hasn’t been able to keep up with changing consumer tastes," Parrack said. "Their sales have never reached pre-pandemic levels. Here’s how RetailStat put it: Express’s issues are due to 'weak consumer spending, uninspiring fashion selections, lower traffic and rising labor costs.’"

Not surprising at all, with the uptick on online retailers that do direct to consumer business, this was coming.

Not surprising at all, with the uptick on online retailers that do direct to consumer business, this was coming.

They’ve always had a pretty good online store as well. I think a big part of it is that young professionals are their target market, they sell a ton of affordable business casual/business professional type clothes, and many young professionals have been fully or partially remote since Covid. Don’t need near as many business outfits, suits, etc when you don’t go into the office every day and aren’t wearing them out as quickly.

'Fast fashion' is a huge trend right now.

Super trendy, quickly produced, cheap, and disposable. Shein is probably the biggest example but there are plenty of others.

When I saw the headline, I immediately thought of Express Personnel Services not realizing that it was the teenage fashion mall store. Yes, I am officially "too old".

When I saw the headline, I immediately thought of Express Personnel Services not realizing that it was the teenage fashion mall store. Yes, I am officially "too old".

Same here. And I read the story in the Oklahoman.

When I saw the headline, I immediately thought of Express Personnel Services not realizing that it was the teenage fashion mall store. Yes, I am officially "too old".

Exactly --- 100% !!!

'Fast fashion' is a huge trend right now.

Super trendy, quickly produced, cheap, and disposable. Shein is probably the biggest example but there are plenty of others.

There's a doc on Max right now called Brandi Hellville (or maybe it's Brandy) about Brandi Mellville but also fast fashion in general. Shein is mentioned. Fast fashion is really not good for the planet. And it's more than just these teeny bopper stores. I'd go as far as to call Men's Warehouse and the like fast fashion. It's disposable and not made to last.

i must be getting my chains mixed up... didn't levi's operate mall stores under the name "jeans express" in the 80's and 90's?

Cheaply made/overpriced clothes are probably the first thing to get left behind in this economy. There are so many great options and so many innovations and these stores essentially haven't changed much since I worked in the mall back in the 90s.

There are a lot of quality online options as well aside from the fast fashion setups. Especially on the mens side as typically we are more hesitant to go through the driving to a mall and shopping.

i must be getting my chains mixed up... didn't levi's operate mall stores under the name "jeans express" in the 80's and 90's?

arggh... my memory last night was faulty. the place was called "trends express"... that's why i wasn't able to find any informaiton online.

apparently, trends express was a local chain that was an offshoot of anthony's... Young Anthony Follows Trends (oklahoman.com) (https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/1993/10/17/young-anthony-follows-trends/62445430007/)

Have they released a list of stores closing? If Brookfield and Simon buy them, I bet the stores at both Quail and Penn will stay open, since they own those malls. Otherwise, I expect the trend to continue, with them downsizing to 1 store at Penn Square in the OKC market and them closing the Quail store.

Have they released a list of stores closing? If Brookfield and Simon buy them, I bet the stores at both Quail and Penn will stay open, since they own those malls. Otherwise, I expect the trend to continue, with them downsizing to 1 store at Penn Square in the OKC market and them closing the Quail store.

Oklahoma's stores are safe.

I saw a listing somewhere on a Google search.

Oklahoma's stores are safe.

I saw a listing somewhere on a Google search.

It seems like the trend is mall owners buying up these stores and operating them themselves to keep them from vacating their malls. You see this with Forever 21 (owned partly by Simon) and JC Penney (owned by Simon and Brookfield).

Today is the final day for the Quail Springs Mall location. The store is practically empty with signs indicating the closure.

Express lives to see another day.

https://chainstoreage.com/express-sold-174-million-joint-venture-includes-three-its-landlords

Looks like Brookfield and Simon have bought another store. I wonder if they'll end up re-opening the Quail location since Brookfield owns Quail.

Looks like Brookfield and Simon have bought another store. I wonder if they'll end up re-opening the Quail location since Brookfield owns Quail.

I think you will still see closures of high-shrink and underperforming stores. This just allows them to quickly turn over closed stores to new tenants. If they had waited out the bankruptcy it would have taken months if not years. A hard lesson property management companies learned from the Montgomery Ward Bankruptcy.

A hard lesson property management companies learned from the Montgomery Ward Bankruptcy.

didn't Montgomery Ward own most of their store spaces at malls??? which would be a massive difference?

I think you will still see closures of high-shrink and underperforming stores. This just allows them to quickly turn over closed stores to new tenants. If they had waited out the bankruptcy it would have taken months if not years. A hard lesson property management companies learned from the Montgomery Ward Bankruptcy.

Except the underperforming stores are usually in malls where they don't have a bunch of other potential tenants waiting to fill the spot. I don't think this is their primary motivation for buying them out. Their just trying to stop the bleed of mall related retailers going out of business or moving out to strip malls.