Kate Upton ads a boon for Express?

Express Inc. says improved marketing and merchandising measures led tostrong profit and revenue performance in the second quarter.

Net income totaled $21 million, compared to $6.9 million, boosted by gross profit resulting from cost of sales growth that was significantly behind the rate of net sales growth.

Net sales increased 11% to $535.58 million from $481.42 million. Same-store sales rose 7% and e-commerce sales grew 21%.

“Strong fashion supported by brand focused marketing and an elevation of our customer experience drove a 7% increase in comparable sales.Disciplined inventory management, combined with the appeal of our product assortment, enabled us to reduce the breadth, depth and frequency of our promotions,” said David Kornberg, president and CEO. “Growth continued across our distribution channels of retail stores, e-commerce and factory outlets. The various components of our business were managed consistently with our balanced approach to growth.”

For the third quarter of fiscal 2015, Express predicts net income of $22 to $25 million and same-store sales growth in the mid-single digits. During the full fiscal year, Express forecasts net income of $105 to $111 million.