With few more days for the first month of the new year to end, American fashion retailer Express is set to shut down 31 stores.
This is a part of retailer’s plans to close as many as 91 outlets in next 2 years. Another 35 is expected to close by January 2021. Remaining stores will close by 2022.
While talking to media, Tim Baxter, CEO, Express stated that the intent to shut down the said number of stores was a part of a larger cost reduction strategy and to focus more on enhancing brand’s image.
He added “I expect Express to return to “a mid-single-digit operating margin through a combination of low-single-digit comp sales growth, margin expansion and cost reductions.”
Notably, in 2019 too, Express had shut down 9 stores. The company added that comparable sales are currently expected to be around 3 per cent down.
