Express to double its Edit store fleet

Express is doubling down on its smaller store, off-mall format.

The apparel retailer is opening six new Express Edit stores, for a total of 11 locations by the end of the year. Averaging under 4,000 sq. ft., the stores are situated in high-traffic, off-mall locations and feature curated and localized product assortments, with enhanced customer services.

Launched in 2020, the brand currently has five stores, with locations in Southlake, Texas; Westport, Conn.; Washington, D.C.; Chestnut Hill, Mass.; and St. Louis, Mo. (The St. Louis outpost is the first women’s-only Express Edit.)

“These stores [Express Edit] acquire new customers, reactivate lapsed customers and sign up Express insiders at higher rates than the balance of our fleet, and boost digital sales in the surrounding ZIP code,” Express CEO Tim Baxter said on the company’s first-quarter earnings call. He also noted that the St. Louis women-only store, which opened in late March, is already “our most productive of these formats to date."

Based on results from the first round of stores, the retailer said it is continuing to open Edit stores to further diversify its brick-and-mortar portfolio.

The upcoming round of Edit stores will start opening  in mid-September, beginning with locations in New York City’s SoHo and Flatiron District neighborhoods. Additional locations will include Newbury Street in Boston,  and Walnut St. in Philadelphia. Two stores will open in Miami, in the South Beach and Brickell districts.