- We visited an Express store in Manhattan in New York City and found an empty ghost town with hardly any shoppers in sight.
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We visited an Express store and the empty ghost town clearly showed why the brand is closing 100 stores
Express announced this week that it will close 100 stores by the end of 2022, including 31 stores by the end of this month.
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It's been a rough week for Express .
The retailer announced plans on Wednesday to close a total of 100 stores by the end of 2022, including 31 stores by the end of this month. The news follows layoffs at Express headquarters in Columbus, Ohio and its design studio in New York City earlier this week.
The store closures are part of an effort to restructure the struggling mall brand, which has succumbed to declining foot traffic and dwindling sales in recent in recent years. In January 2019, CEO David Kornberg abruptly stepped down from the company, also pointing to trouble for the brand, which was owned by Limited Brands until 2011.
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Express CEO Tim Baxter, who took over the helm in June 2019, said in a statement on Wednesday that the downsizing is part of a larger cost reduction strategy aimed at helping to bolster the ailing brand.
"My expectation is that we will return to a mid-single-digit operating margin through a combination of low-single-digit comp sales growth, margin expansion and cost reductions," Baxter said in a statement. "This will of course take some time, but we have a clear path."
We visited an Express store in New York City and saw firsthand why the brand is struggling. Here's what it was like.
We visited an Express store in Manhattans Flatiron neighborhood, located on a busy shopping street.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
When we arrived shortly after 1 p.m. on a Thursday, there was hardly a shopper in sight.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
It was a ghost town.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
The womens section was filled with tons of untouched products.
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As we browsed, we still didnt see a single shopper.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
Where is everybody?
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
The mens section was equally as barren.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
Next, we made our way to the back of the store, where we saw some distant movement near the register.
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We also spotted this unused mobile checkout station.
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On the bottoms of the racks, we spotted tons of untouched accessories.
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Eventually, we found one lone shopper scouring the sale racks ...
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... which upon closer inspection, were a mess.
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There were tons of overflowing bins brimming with 50% off apparel.
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So many wrinkles.
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Everywhere we looked, the store was just bursting with unsold products.
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We also saw several promotional signs like this one, which never bodes well.
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Here was another promotional sign, which also doubled as a plea to sign up for an Express credit card.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
There was still no one to be found by the dressing rooms.
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As we got closer to the register, we saw a pile of unattended returns.
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In general, the styles felt fairly uninspired and bland.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
As we were leaving, an employee gave us a free trial for the Express Style Trial rental service.
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Bethany Biron/Business Insider
We already tested this service back in September , and didn't love it.
Ultimately, it wasnt hard to see why Express is on the brink of decline.
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See Also:
- Victoria's Secret is taking steps to shed its much-criticized image. Here are 4 things that the brand has changed in the past year.
- Gap canceled its spinoff of Old Navy, but it's still one of America's most beloved brands. Here's a look at its rise to be a retail powerhouse.
- Express is closing 31 stores in 20 states this month. See if your local store is on the list.
SEE ALSO: Express is closing 31 stores in 20 states this month. See if your local store is on the list.
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