UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 Form 10-K

(Mark One)
☒	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the fiscal year ended January 29, 2022
OR
☐	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
	For the transition period from           to

Commission file number: 001-34742

EXPRESS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware	26-2828128
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
1 Express Drive Columbus, Ohio	43230
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (614) 474-4001

 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $.01 par value	EXPR	The New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes  ☐   No   ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes ☐  No  ☒  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

 Yes ☒     No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "smaller reporting company," and "emerging growth company"

in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	☐	Accelerated filer	☒
Non-accelerated filer	☐	Smaller reporting company	☒
		Emerging growth company	☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☒ 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes ☐     No ☒ 

Aggregate market value of the registrant's common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of July 31, 2021: $304,341,668.

 The number of outstanding shares of the registrant's common stock was 67,076,537 as of February 26, 2022.

DOCUMENT INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE:

Certain portions of the registrant's definitive Proxy Statement for its 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which is expected to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant's 2021 fiscal year ("Proxy Statement for our 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders"), to be held on June 8, 2022, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS			3
RISK FACTOR SUMMARY			3
Part I			5
	Item 1.	Business	5
	Item 1A.	Risk Factors	12
	Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	26
	Item 2.	Properties	26
	Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	26
	Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	26
Part II			27
	Item 5.	Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	27
	Item 6.	Removed and Reserved	28
	Item 7.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	29
	Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	41
	Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	43
		Consolidated Balance Sheets	47
		Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income	48
		Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity	49
		Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	50
		Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	51
	Item 9.	Changes In and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	73
	Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	73
	Item 9B.	Other Information	73
	Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	74
Part III			74
	Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	75
	Item 11.	Executive Compensation	75
	Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	75
	Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	75
	Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	75
Part IV			75
	Item 15.	Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules	75
	Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	78
SIGNATURES			79

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 2

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance, and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” "potential," “intend,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “can have,” “likely,” “continue to,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. For example, all statements we make relating to our estimated and projected costs, expenditures, cash flows, and financial results; our plans, objectives, strategies, and initiatives for future operations or growth; the expected outcome of such plans, objectives, strategies, and initiatives; or expected outcome or impact of pending or threatened litigation are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including, but not limited to those under the heading "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Those factors should not be construed as exhaustive and should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. We do not undertake any obligation to make any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law, including the securities laws of the United States and rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

RISK FACTOR SUMMARY

Below is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found under the heading “Risk Factors” in Part I, Item 1A in this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

▪changes in consumer spending and general economic conditions;

▪customer traffic at malls, shopping centers, and at our stores;

▪the COVID-19 pandemic has previously and may again adversely affect our business operations, store traffic, employee availability, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow;

▪competition from other retailers;

▪our dependence upon independent third parties to manufacture all of our merchandise;

▪changes in the availability and cost of raw materials, labor, and freight;

▪labor shortages;

▪supply chain disruption and increased tariffs;

▪difficulties associated with our distribution facilities;

▪natural disasters, extreme weather, public health issues, including pandemics, fire, and other events that cause business interruption; and

▪our reliance on third parties to provide us with certain key services for our business.

▪our ability to identify and respond to new and changing fashion trends, customer preferences, and other related factors;

▪fluctuations in our sales, results of operations, and cash levels on a seasonal basis and due to a variety of other factors, including our product offerings relative to customer demand, the mix of merchandise we sell, promotions, inventory levels, and sales mix between stores and eCommerce;

▪our dependence on a strong brand image;

▪our ability to adapt to changes in consumer behavior and develop and maintain a relevant and reliable omnichannel experience for our customers;

▪our dependence upon key executive management; and

▪our ability to execute our growth strategy, including but not limited to, engaging our customers and acquiring new ones, executing with precision to accelerate sales and profitability, putting product first, and reinvigorating our brand.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 3

▪the failure or breach of information systems upon which we rely;

▪the increase of our employees working remotely and use of technology for work functions; and

▪our ability to protect our customer data from fraud and theft.

▪our substantial lease obligations;

▪restrictions imposed on us under the terms of our current credit facilities, including asset based requirements related to inventory levels, ability to make additional borrowings, and restrictions on our ability to repurchase shares of our common stock;

▪our inability to maintain compliance with covenants in our current credit facilities; and

▪impairment charges on long-lived assets and our lease assets.

▪claims made against us resulting in litigation or changes in laws and regulations applicable to our business;

▪our inability to protect our trademarks or other intellectual property rights that may preclude the use of our trademarks or other intellectual property around the world;

▪changes in tax requirements, results of tax audits, and other factors including timing of tax refund receipts, that may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rate and operating results; and

▪our failure to maintain adequate internal controls.

▪our inability to pay dividends and repurchase shares;

▪our charter documents and applicable law may discourage or delay acquisition attempts;

▪our shares of common stock may experience extreme volatility and purchases of our common stock could incur substantial losses;

▪our stock price may incur rapid and substantial increases or decreases that may not coincide in timing with the disclosure of news or developments affecting us;

▪potential short squeezes related to our common stock have led to, and could again lead to, extreme price volatility in shares of our common stock; and

▪information available in public media that is published by third parties, including blogs, articles, message boards and social and other media may include statements not attributable to us and may not be reliable or accurate.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 4

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

In this section, "Express", "we", "us", "the Company", and "our" refer to Express, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries as a combined entity. Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal years are referred to by the calendar year in which the fiscal year commences. All references herein to the Company's fiscal years are as follows:

Fiscal Year	Year Ended	Number of Weeks
2021	January 29, 2022	52
2020	January 30, 2021	52
2019	February 1, 2020	52

GENERAL

Grounded in versatility and powered by a styling community, Express is a modern, multichannel apparel and accessories brand whose purpose is to Create Confidence & Inspire Self-Expression. Launched in 1980 with the idea that style, quality and value should all be found in one place, Express has been a part of some of the most important and culture-defining fashion trends. The Express Edit design philosophy ensures that the brand is always "of the now" so people can get dressed for every day and any occasion knowing that Express can help them look the way they want to look and feel the way they want to feel.

As of January 29, 2022, we operated 561 stores across the United States and in Puerto Rico, including 203 factory outlet stores. Our stores are located primarily in high-traffic shopping malls, lifestyle centers, outlet centers, and street locations, and average approximately 8,400 gross square feet. We also sell our products through our online store, www.express.com, our mobile app, as well as through franchisees who operate Express locations in Latin America pursuant to franchise agreements. Our 2021 merchandise sales were comprised of 91% apparel and 9% accessories and other and 57% women's and 43% men's.

COMPETITION AND COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS

The apparel retail market is highly competitive. We compete with other omni-channel retailers that engage in the retail sale of women's and men's apparel, accessories, and similar merchandise. We compete on the basis of a combination of factors, including, among others, style, breadth, quality, and price of merchandise offered, in-store and online customer experience, and brand image.

We believe we differentiate ourselves from our competitors as follows:

•Established Lifestyle Brand

With more than 40 years of heritage, we are a fashion-forward apparel brand and style community whose purpose is to create confidence and inspire self-expression. From wardrobe essentials to the latest trends, we outfit doers, makers, movers and shakers with clothing designed for real-life versatility. At Express, we believe that everyone should dream big and dress accordingly. Our clothing is an edit of the top trends to create a modern, flexible wardrobe. The Express brand differentiates itself by offering terrific value, great fits, premium fabrics and impeccable details, with each style designed to help you express your style.

•Reengineered Go To Market Processes

We implemented our new go to market process in the Spring of 2020 and our teams have been better aligned, our products speed to market has increased, and we have better cross functional coordination in the field and at the home office. This transformed process began with a unified brand presentation increasing our speed to market, streamlining our calendars, and ensuring better integration across all of our marketing touchpoints. We have achieved our goal of being more efficient, more effective, and more

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 5

connected across functions and faster to market at a reduced cost. We have also worked more closely with our suppliers to achieve better alignment on the aesthetics, fit and quality our customers want. All of these efforts continue to help us bring more newness in our assortment more often and mitigate the supply chain challenges facing us today.

•Strong and Experienced Team

Our existing team, at and below the leadership level, has extensive experience in the retail apparel industry, including depth in the areas of fashion design and merchandising, supply chain management, marketing, customer experience, eCommerce, store operations, technology, planning and allocation, and real estate, as well as other diverse business experiences that we believe are valuable to us as we continue to execute our growth strategy. Experience within Express extends deep into our organization, including district and store managers.

OUR PRODUCTS

The majority of our apparel designs are created by our in-house design team. We believe every day is an occasion and we want to help our customers dress for it. We established a design and merchandising philosophy called the Express Edit that supports our brand promise: “to edit the best of now for real life versatility”. We are designing best-in-class, modern product at incredible value. Below are the four ideas that define the Express Edit:

•Versatility Adds Value

◦Create modern-day dressing experience with multiple ways to wear at work, at play, during the day and during the night

•New & Now

◦Meet our customers’ desire for newness by understanding where fashion is now and looking ahead to where it's going through monthly deliveries in key categories that continue to update a seasonal wardrobe

•Drive Denim

◦Denim is the foundation of every modern wardrobe. We completely reinvented our assortments and are delivering premium jeans under $100

•Add an Accessory

◦Accessories are a fashion entry point and an add-on to an outfit at an opening price point

We plan our product assortments and display them in our stores and online in a coordinated manner to encourage our customers to purchase items that can be worn in multiple ways for multiple wearing occasions. We believe this allows us to better meet our customers' shopping objectives while differentiating our product offerings from competitors. On average, our customers purchase two to three items per transaction.

OMNICHANNEL CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

We are committed to enhancing our omnichannel customer experience that offers a seamless shopping experience whether the customer is shopping in a store or online through a desktop, tablet, or mobile device. We believe the lines between our store and eCommerce channels are disappearing as customers increasingly interact with us both in-store and online and often through mobile devices while in stores. As a result, we are focused on leveraging the best of both channels to create an exceptional omnichannel shopping experience.

We design our stores to create a distinctive and engaging shopping environment and project our image of Express as a fashion authority. Our stores feature a vibrant and youthful look, bright signage, and popular music. Our stores are constructed and finished to allow us to efficiently shift merchandise displays throughout the year as seasons dictate. To further enhance our customers' experience, we seek to attract enthusiastic store associates who are committed to offering a high level of customer service. We believe our managers and associates are well equipped to assist and inspire our customers as a result of education and training we provide, the culture of accountability we foster, the incentives we offer, and the decision-making authority we grant to store managers. On average, our store managers have been with Express for approximately six years.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 6

Similar to our stores, our eCommerce capabilities focus on creating an engaging and easy shopping experience that supports a vibrant fashion consumer, whether on a mobile device, tablet, or desktop, with a particular focus on the mobile experience. We recognize the growing preference for online shopping and continue to make enhancements to the online customer experience through improved search, site navigation and checkout capabilities, and targeted customer messaging, making shopping easier for customers. During 2021, we focused on advancing our eCommerce and omnichannel experience, particularly as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in more of our customers continuing to shop online. We did this with enhanced and expanded buy-online-pick-up-in-store and ship-from-store functionalities, both of which contribute to more efficient, and effective inventory management. Additionally, we enhanced the way we engage and service our customers in the digital channel. We expanded our Digital Stylist program by increasing the resources available, to provide more real-time, virtual assistance to express.com customers. We plan to optimize our online product assortment through product extensions, and expand and grow our Marketplace / Labels we Love business with the addition of new categories such as active, swimwear, and intimates.

MARKETING

We use a variety of marketing vehicles designed to acquire new customers, engage with existing customers, increase customer traffic in-store and online, and build brand loyalty. We seek to optimize our customer relationship management ("CRM") through a number of tactics, such as test and learn programs, circulation and offer models, and greater use of digital marketing.

We use a proprietary customer database, together with data analytics, to customize our communications and make targeted offers to customers in an effort to increase customer traffic in-store and online and to increase conversion. During the first quarter of 2021, we rebranded and relaunched our Express Insider loyalty program. We brought in 2.7 million new customers and reactivated 2.2 million lapsed customers since the relaunch. We ended the year with the highest number of active loyalty members in the Company's history.

We implemented new participation tiers and earnings structure, new benefits, a digital wallet feature, and made it easier for customers to earn, track, and redeem their benefits. Our Express Insider members have tremendous lifetime value to Express. This program is a critical factor in gaining additional share of existing customers' spend and bringing new customers into the brand. We also offer a private-label credit card through an agreement (the "Card Agreement") with Comenity Bank (the “Bank”) under which the Bank owns the credit card accounts and Alliance Data Systems Corporation provides services to our private-label credit card customers. All of our proprietary credit cards carry the Express logo.

TECHNOLOGY

We rely on information technology to operate our business. Our information technology provides a full range of business process support and information to our store, eCommerce, merchandising, financial, and real estate teams. We utilize a combination of customized and industry standard software systems to provide various functions related to point-of-sale, inventory management, design, planning and allocation, and financial reporting. During 2021, we launched multiple systems, including a re-platform of our loyalty program and the introduction of our social commerce interface. In addition, we continued to enhance and upgrade our online experience through both the web and our mobile app. We believe these systems and enhancements will continue to increase our ability to acquire and retain customers and ultimately accelerate our transformation from a store in the mall to a brand with a purpose powered by a styling community.

SOURCING

Our Sourcing Methods

We utilize a broad base of manufacturers located throughout the world that we believe produce goods at the level of quality that our customers desire and can supply products to us on a timely basis at competitive prices. We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and, as a result, contract with third-party vendors for the production of all of our merchandise. We purchase both apparel and accessories through buying agents and directly from vendors. In exchange for a commission, our buying agents identify suitable vendors and coordinate our purchasing requirements with vendors by placing orders for merchandise on our behalf, facilitating the timely delivery of goods

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 7

to us, obtaining samples of merchandise produced in factories, inspecting finished merchandise, and carrying out vendor compliance monitoring and administrative communications on our behalf.

We purchase the majority of our merchandise outside of the United States through arrangements with approximately 70 vendors utilizing approximately 270 manufacturing facilities located in approximately 20 countries throughout the world, primarily in Asia. The top five countries from which we sourced our merchandise in 2021 were Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and the Philippines, based on total cost of merchandise purchased. The top 10 manufacturing facilities, based on cost, supplied approximately 29% of our merchandise in 2021. We purchase merchandise using purchase orders, and therefore are not subject to long-term production contracts with any vendors, manufacturers, or buying agents.

Quality Assurance and Compliance Monitoring

Each supplier, factory, and subcontractor that manufactures our merchandise is required to adhere to our Code of Vendor Conduct and certain other purchasing terms and conditions, including those related to product quality. This is designed to ensure that each of our suppliers' operations are conducted in a legal, ethical, and responsible manner. Our Code of Vendor Conduct requires that each of our suppliers provides minimum wages and benefits, limits working hours, complies with all laws, including environmental laws, and provides a safe and healthy work environment. It also forbids the use of child labor or forced labor, and prohibits unauthorized subcontracting. We monitor compliance through third parties who conduct regular factory audits on our behalf as well as through our buying agents.

DISTRIBUTION

We utilize two facilities for the distribution of our product, both of which are owned and operated by third parties. Virtually all of the merchandise sold in our stores and on our website is first received and processed at a central distribution facility in Columbus, Ohio. From there, merchandise allocated to be sold in stores is shipped to our stores and merchandise to be sold online direct-to-consumer is shipped to a distribution facility in Richwood, Kentucky (the "Richwood Facility"). Merchandise is typically shipped to such stores and to the Richwood Facility via third-party delivery services multiple times per week, thereby providing them with a steady flow of inventory. The third party who operates the Richwood Facility is responsible for fulfilling the majority of the orders placed through our website and shipping the merchandise directly to customers or to stores for pickup, via third-party delivery services. In addition, approximately 323 retail stores have the ability to ship select online merchandise directly to our customers.

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STORES

As of January 29, 2022, we operated a total of 5611,2 stores in 46 states across the United States, as well as in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The following list shows the number of stores we operated in the United States and Puerto Rico as of January 29, 2022:

Location	Count	Location	Count	Location	Count
Alabama	4	Kentucky	4	North Dakota	1
Arizona	8	Louisiana	7	Ohio2	18
Arkansas	2	Maine	3	Oklahoma	5
California2	68	Maryland	14	Oregon2	4
Colorado2	12	Massachusetts1	14	Pennsylvania	24
Connecticut1	9	Michigan	16	Puerto Rico	3
District of Columbia1	2	Minnesota	10	Rhode Island	2
Delaware	2	Mississippi	2	South Carolina	6
Florida	49	Missouri	8	South Dakota	1
Georgia	15	Nebraska	3	Tennessee	8
Hawaii	1	Nevada	9	Texas1	53
Idaho	1	New Hampshire	4	Utah	4
Illinois2	28	New Jersey	26	Virginia	14
Indiana	13	New Mexico	3	Washington	9
Iowa	6	New York	35	West Virginia	1
Kansas	4	North Carolina	16	Wisconsin	10
				Total	561

1.Store count includes Express Edit stores

2.Store count includes UpWest stores

The following list shows the number of stores operated by our franchisees by country as of January 29, 2022:

Location	Count
Costa Rica	2
Panama	2
El Salvador	1
Guatemala	1
Total	6

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The Express trademark and certain variations thereon, such as Express World Brand, are registered or are subject to pending trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and/or with the registries of many foreign countries. In addition, we own domain names for many of our trademarks, including express.com, and we vigorously protect them against infringement.

REGULATION AND LEGISLATION

We are subject to labor and employment laws and regulations, including minimum wage requirements; intellectual property laws; consumer protection laws and regulations, including those governing advertising and promotions, privacy, and product safety; laws and regulations with respect to the operation of our stores and business generally,

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including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; and laws that apply as a result of being a public company. In addition, we are subject to United States customs laws and similar laws of other countries associated with the import and export of merchandise.

HUMAN CAPITAL RESOURCES

At Express our brand purpose is to create confidence and inspire self-expression, and our associates are essential to fulfilling that purpose. In order to compete and succeed in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving market, we must continue to attract and retain talented and experienced employees. To do this, we begin with a comprehensive, Company-wide program called Success@Express that guides our approach to associate performance, potential and succession, and rewards. Success@Express also ensures that each associate’s goals and objectives are aligned with the EXPRESSway Forward strategy.

Associates

We currently employ approximately 10,000 associates. Approximately 800 associates are based at our corporate locations in either Columbus or New York City, approximately 40 are field-based regional and district managers, approximately 1,000 are in-store managers and assistant managers, and approximately 8,000 are in-store sales associates. Approximately 30% of our associates are full-time and the remaining 70% are part-time. We employ temporary, seasonal associates at times, primarily during peak holiday selling periods. None of our associates are represented by a union. We believe our relations with our associates are good.

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation and benefits component of the Success@Express program is designed to attract and reward individuals who demonstrate the skills necessary to support our business objectives, assist in the achievement of our strategic goals and create long-term value for our shareholders. We provide associates with compensation packages that include base salary and may also include annual incentive bonuses and/or long-term incentive awards depending upon the associate’s level. We believe that a compensation program with both short-term and long-term awards provides fair and competitive compensation and aligns associate and stockholder interests. In addition to cash and equity compensation, we also offer eligible associates benefits such as life and health (medical, dental and vision) insurance, paid time off, paid parental leave, and a 401(k) plan, of which we match 4.0% of contributions.

We offer Flex@Express which empowers associates to work with their leaders to create flexible work arrangements that best balance their personal and professional commitments.

Board Oversight

Human capital management is incorporated into discussions of our Board of Directors throughout the year. The Compensation and Governance Committee reviews our corporate responsibility program, and any related policies and practices, at least annually and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding plans and progress against key initiatives. Generally, we consider our commitment to corporate and social responsibility to include, among other things, respect for human rights, ethical and sustainable sourcing, environmental and climate change initiatives, evaluating the impact of our practices on the communities in which we operate and our associates, and charitable giving.

SEASONALITY

Our business is seasonal. We define our seasons as Spring, which includes the first and second quarters, and Fall, which includes the third and fourth quarters. Historically, we have realized a higher portion of our net sales and net income in the Fall season due primarily to the impact of the holiday season. Generally, approximately 45% of our annual net sales occur in the Spring season and 55% occur in the Fall season. Cash needs are typically higher in the third quarter due to inventory-related working capital requirements for early Fall and holiday selling periods. Our business is also subject, at certain times, to calendar shifts, which may occur during key selling periods close to holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

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AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We make available free of charge on our website, www.express.com, copies of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act of 1934"), as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically with, or otherwise furnishing it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains electronic filings at www.sec.gov. References to our website address do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the website, and such information is not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

Our business faces a variety of risks. The risks described below are the items of most concern to us, however these are not all of the risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, that apply to similar businesses more generally, or that we currently consider immaterial may also impair our business operations. If any of these risks occur, our business prospects, reputation, financial condition or results of operations could materially suffer, and the market price of our common stock could decline.

OPERATIONAL AND INDUSTRY RISK FACTORS

Our business is sensitive to consumer spending and general economic conditions. Recessionary, slow growth, or other difficult economic conditions could adversely affect our financial performance.

Consumer purchases of discretionary items, including our merchandise, generally decline during recessionary periods and other periods where disposable income is adversely affected. Our business is impacted by factors that affect domestic and worldwide economic conditions and disposable income, particularly those that affect our target demographic, including recent inflationary pressures, unemployment levels, levels of consumer debt, availability of consumer credit, levels of student debt, healthcare costs, prices of non-discretionary consumer goods, reductions in net worth based on declines in the financial, residential real estate and mortgage markets, tax rates, fuel and energy prices, interest rates, consumer confidence and perceptions of personal well-being and security, the value of the United States dollar versus foreign currencies, political and regulatory uncertainty, and other macroeconomic factors. Uncertain or deteriorating economic conditions may reduce the level of consumer spending and inhibit consumers' use of credit, which may adversely affect our revenues, profits, liquidity and capital resources. In recessionary periods or periods of slow growth, we may have to increase the number of promotional sales or otherwise dispose of inventory, including fabric, for which we have previously paid to manufacture or committed to purchase and/or increase our marketing and promotional expenses in response to lower than anticipated levels of demand for our products, which could adversely affect our profitability. Our financial performance may be particularly susceptible to economic and other conditions in regions or states where we have a significant number of stores.

In addition, difficult economic conditions may exacerbate some of the other risks described in this Item 1A. Risk Factors, including those risks associated with increased competition, decreases in mall traffic, brand reputation, our ability to develop and maintain a reliable omnichannel customer experience, our ability to execute our corporate strategy and achieve our strategic objectives, the interruption of the production and flow of merchandise, and leasing substantial amounts of space. The risks could be exacerbated individually or collectively.

Our ability to attract customers to our stores that are located in malls or other shopping centers depends heavily on the success of these malls and shopping centers, and continued decreases in customer traffic in these malls or shopping centers, whether due to the growing preference for online shopping or otherwise, could cause our net sales and our profitability to be less than expected.

A significant number of our stores are located in malls and other shopping centers and many of these malls and shopping centers have been experiencing declines in customer traffic. Our sales at these stores are dependent, to a significant degree, upon the volume of traffic in those shopping centers and the surrounding area; however, our costs associated with these stores are essentially fixed. In times of declining traffic and sales, our ability to leverage these costs and our profitability are negatively impacted. Our sales volume and traffic has been - and we expect that it will continue to be - adversely affected by, among other things, the decrease in popularity of malls or other shopping centers in which our stores are located, the closing of anchor stores important to our business, and declines in popularity of other stores in the malls or shopping centers in which our stores are located. Furthermore, a deterioration in the financial condition of shopping center operators or developers could, for example, limit their ability to invest in improvements and finance tenant improvements for us and other retailers and lead consumers to view these locations as less desirable. Further reduction in consumer traffic as a result of these or any other factors could have a material adverse effect on us.

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The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to adversely affect our business operations, store traffic, employee availability, financial condition, liquidity and cash flow.

The COVID-19 pandemic and preventative measures taken to contain or mitigate the virus have caused, and are continuing to cause, business slowdown or shutdown in affected areas and significant disruption in the financial markets both globally and in the United States. This has led to a decline in discretionary spending by consumers, which has materially impacted our business, sales, financial condition and results of operations. The impacts include, but are not limited to:

•retail and outlet store closures or reduced operating hours and/or decreased traffic;

•disruption to our distribution centers and our third-party manufacturing partners and other vendors, including the effects of facility closures, reductions in operating hours, labor shortages, vessel, container and other transportation shortages, port congestion globally and real-time changes in operating procedures, including for additional cleaning and disinfection procedures, which could, among other things, make it difficult or impossible to operate our eCommerce business;

•our ability to attract, retain and manage our associates; and

•significant disruption of global financial markets, which could have a negative impact on our ability to access capital in the future.

The further spread of COVID-19, and the requirements to take action to help limit the spread of the illness, will impact our ability to carry out our business as usual and may materially adversely impact global economic conditions, our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial condition. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our business and financial results will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak within the markets in which we operate, the related impact on consumer confidence and spending, the effect of governmental regulations imposed in response to the pandemic, whether there are additional outbreaks, mutations or related strains of the virus in locations where we operate, the availability of, and prevalence of access to, effective medical treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, and the pace of recovery when the pandemic subsides, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. The sweeping nature of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it extremely difficult to predict how our business and operations will be affected in the long run. However, the likely overall economic impact of the pandemic is viewed as highly negative to the general economy. Any of the foregoing factors, or other cascading effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, could materially increase our costs, negatively impact our sales and damage our results of operations and liquidity, possibly to a significant degree. While we currently believe liquidity will be sufficient to fund our lease obligations, capital expenditures, and working capital for the next 12 months and the foreseeable future, the duration of any such impacts cannot be predicted.

We face significant competition that could adversely affect our ability to generate higher net sales and margins and attract and retain talent.

We face substantial competition in the specialty retail apparel and accessories industry, including from individual and chain specialty apparel retailers, local, regional, national and international department stores, and eCommerce businesses. Recent proliferation of the direct-to-consumer channel has encouraged the entry of many new competitors and an increase in competition from established companies. Some of our competitors have competitive advantages relative to us, including greater financial, marketing, and other resources, lower prices, higher wages, greater eCommerce presence, more desirable store locations and faster speed-to-market. Further, our larger competitors may be better equipped to changing conditions that affect the competitive market and newer entrants may be viewed as more desirable by fashion-conscious consumers. In addition, disruptive innovation, by existing or new competitors, could alter the competitive landscape by improving the customer experience and heightening customer expectations, transforming supply chain and corporate operations through digital technologies and artificial intelligence and enhancing management decision-making through use of data analytics to develop new consumer insights. Many of our competitors sell their products in stores that are located in the same shopping malls or lifestyle centers as our stores and many also sell their products online either exclusively or in addition to brick-and-mortar stores. We expect the retail environment for apparel to remain highly competitive, which may result in lower prices, more promotions, and lower product margins. In addition to competing for sales, we compete for favorable site locations and lease terms in shopping malls and lifestyle centers, and our competitors may be able to secure more favorable locations than us as a result of their relationships with, or appeal to, landlords or their willingness and ability to pay more for leased space. We also compete with other retailers and service-based businesses for personnel. The competition for retail talent is increasing. We have experienced increases in labor

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costs and may need to continue to increase wages to attract and retain talent. Even still, we may not be able to attract, retain and develop the sufficient number of qualified individuals we need to operate our stores. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against existing or future competitors or maintain our product margins, and our inability to do so could have a material adverse effect on us.

We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and therefore depend upon third parties for the manufacture of all of our merchandise. The inability of a manufacturer to ship goods on-time to our specifications or to operate in compliance with our Vendor Code of Conduct or applicable laws could negatively impact our business.

We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities. As a result, we are dependent upon the timely receipt of quality merchandise from third-party vendors. A manufacturer's inability to ship orders to us in a timely manner or meet our quality standards could cause inventory shortages or high levels of out-of-season inventory and negatively affect consumer confidence in the quality and value of our brand and our competitive position. As there are a finite number of skilled manufacturers that meet our requirements, it could take significant time to identify and qualify suitable alternatives, which could, for example, result in our missing retailing seasons. In addition, if manufacturing costs were to rise significantly, our product margins and results of operations could be negatively affected. Any of these issues could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

If any of our manufacturers fail to comply with applicable laws or our Vendor Code of Conduct, or engage in any socially unacceptable business practices such as poor working conditions, child labor, disregard for environmental standards, or otherwise, our brand reputation could be negatively impacted and our results of operations could in turn be materially adversely affected.

The raw materials used to manufacture our products and our transportation and labor costs are subject to availability constraints, price volatility and related inflationary pressures, which could result in increased costs.

The raw materials used to manufacture our merchandise are subject to availability constraints and price volatility caused by demand for cotton, petroleum-based synthetic textiles, and other fabrics, weather conditions, supply conditions, government regulations, including those associated with global climate change, economic climate, recent inflationary pressures, and other unpredictable factors. In addition, our transportation and labor costs are subject to price volatility caused by the price of energy, supply of labor, governmental regulations, higher minimum wages, economic climate, recent inflationary pressures, and other unpredictable factors. In addition, the cost of labor at many of our manufacturers has been increasing significantly, and as the middle class in developing countries continues to grow, it is unlikely that such cost pressure will abate.

Changes in the demand for, or the price, availability or quality of, raw materials used to manufacture our merchandise and increases in transportation and labor costs could each have a material adverse effect on our cost of sales or our ability to meet our customers' needs. We may not be able to pass all or a material portion of such increased costs on to our customers, which could negatively impact our profitability.

The interruption of the flow of merchandise from international manufacturers or increased tariffs or other trade restrictions could disrupt our supply chain.

We purchase the majority of our merchandise outside of the United States through arrangements with approximately 70 vendors, utilizing approximately 270 manufacturing facilities located throughout the world, primarily in Asia and Central and South America. Political, social, or economic instability in Asia, Central, or South America, or in other regions where our products are made, could cause disruptions in trade, including exports. Other events that could also cause disruptions to our supply chain include:

•the imposition of additional trade law provisions or regulations;

•the imposition of additional duties, tariffs, and other charges on imports and exports;

•quotas imposed by bilateral textile agreements;

•foreign currency fluctuations;

•raw material shortages, natural disasters and theft;

•economic crises, international disputes and wars, such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the related response by other countries, including additional conflicts, sanctions or other restrictive actions;

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•public health issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and social or political unrest;

•restrictions on the transfer of funds;

•the financial instability or bankruptcy of manufacturers;

•significant labor disputes;

•the inability of our vendors to source raw materials due to factories that are shut down temporarily due to illness or otherwise; and

•delays at ports, including as a result of shipping backlogs, availability of vessels or capacity constraints.

Political uncertainty in the United States may result in significant changes to U.S. trade policies, treaties and tariffs. These developments, or the perception that any of them could occur, may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets, and may significantly reduce global trade and, in particular, trade between these nations and the United States. Any of these factors could depress economic activity, restrict our sourcing from suppliers and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot predict whether the countries in which our merchandise is manufactured, or may be manufactured in the future, will be subject to new or additional trade restrictions imposed by the United States or other foreign governments, including the likelihood, type, or effect of any such restrictions. Trade restrictions, including new or increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes, safeguards, and customs restrictions against apparel items, as well as labor strikes and work stoppages, slowdowns or boycotts, and temporary closures of facilities or shipping ports caused by public health issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, could increase the cost or reduce or delay the supply of apparel available to us. As a result, we may be unable to meet our customers’ demands or pass on price increases to our customers. In addition, if imported merchandise becomes unavailable or more expensive, the transition to alternative sources may not occur in time to meet demand. The occurrence of any of these or other risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

If we experience significant supply chain disruptions, including as a result of any bans on travel, commercial or other similar restrictions or any delays in production or distribution operations at any or all of our suppliers' facilities due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we may not be able to develop alternate sourcing quickly on favorable terms, if at all, which could result in increased costs, loss of sales and a loss of customers, and adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

If we encounter difficulties associated with distribution facilities or if they were to shut down for any reason, we could face shortages of inventory in our stores, delayed shipments to our online customers, and harm to our reputation.

Our distribution facilities are operated by third parties. Our Columbus facility operates as our central distribution facility and supports our entire North American business. All of our merchandise is shipped to the central distribution facility from our vendors and is then packaged and shipped to our stores or the Richwood Facility for further distribution to our online customers. The success of our stores and the satisfaction of our online customers depend on their timely receipt of merchandise. The efficient flow of our merchandise requires that the third parties who operate the distribution facilities have adequate capacity and labor to support our current level of operations and any anticipated increased levels that may follow from the growth of our business or during peak seasons.

If we encounter labor and capacity constraints, difficulties with the distribution facilities or in our relationships with the third parties who operate the facilities, or if either facility were to shut down for any reason, including as a result of fire or other natural disaster, software malfunctions, economic conditions, government shutdowns, accidents, shipping problems, or employee matters, such as work stoppages, we could face shortages of inventory, resulting in “out of stock” conditions in our stores, incur significantly higher costs and longer lead times associated with distributing our products to both our stores and online customers, and experience dissatisfaction from our customers. Any of these issues could have a material adverse effect on our business and harm our reputation.

Natural disasters, fire, pandemic disease and other events beyond our control may cause business disruption and result in unexpected adverse operating results.

Our corporate offices and other facilities on which we rely, including those of our third party vendors, are vulnerable to damage and/or disruption from extreme weather, natural disasters, fire, pandemic disease, acts of terrorism or war, and other unexpected events which could cause us to experience significant disruption in our business, resulting in lost sales and productivity, and causing us to incur significant expense to repair our facilities, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business. In addition, there can be no assurance that our

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property insurance will be sufficient, or that insurance proceeds will be paid timely to us in the event that any of our facilities are damaged or shut down for any reason.

Extreme or unseasonable weather conditions could have an adverse impact on our sales, inventory levels and operating results.

Our operations have historically been seasonal, with a significant amount of net sales and operating income occurring in the third and fourth quarters. Unseasonable weather may reduce demand for our seasonal merchandise and severe weather conditions or changes in weather patterns may also influence consumer preferences and fashion trends, consumer traffic and shopping habits. Any of these factors could reduce sales and profitability and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for substantially all of our product shipments and are subject to increased shipping costs as well as the potential inability of our third-party transportation providers to deliver on a timely basis.

We currently rely upon independent third-party transportation providers for substantially all of our product shipments, including shipments to and from all of our stores and to our customers. Our utilization of these delivery services for shipments is subject to risks which may impact a shipping company’s ability to provide delivery services that adequately meet our shipping needs, including risks related to employee strikes, labor and capacity constraints, port security considerations, trade policy changes or restrictions, military conflicts, acts of terrorism or war, accidents, natural disasters and inclement weather. Any interruption in service provided by our shipping companies could cause temporary disruptions in our business, a loss of sales and profits, and other material adverse effects. In addition, we are subject to increased shipping costs when fuel prices increase, when we use expedited means of transportation such as air freight, and due to other economic factors affecting supply and demand within the transportation industry, including recent inflationary pressures. If we change the shipping companies we use, we could face logistical difficulties that could adversely affect deliveries, and we would incur costs and expend resources in connection with such change. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from our current independent third-party transportation providers which, in turn, would increase our costs.

We rely on third parties to provide us with certain key services for our business. If any of these third parties fails to perform their obligations to us or declines to provide services to us in the future, we may suffer a disruption to our business. Furthermore, we may be unable to provide these services or implement substitute arrangements on a timely basis with terms favorable to us.

We rely on many different third parties to provide us with key services. For example, we rely on a third party to operate our central distribution facility in Columbus, Ohio and to provide certain inbound and outbound transportation and delivery services, distribution services, and customs services. We also rely on another third party to provide us with logistics and other services related to our eCommerce operations and another third party to provide telephone and online support to our customers. In connection with our sourcing activities, we rely on approximately 70 buying agents and vendors to help us source products from approximately 270 manufacturing facilities, and in connection with our marketing activities, we rely on third parties to administer our customer database, our loyalty program, our private label credit card program, and our gift cards. We also rely on third-party technology providers to provide us with various technology services and we rely on a third party to administer certain aspects of our payroll. If any of these third parties fails to perform their obligations to us, increases their prices, or declines to provide services to us in the future, we may suffer a disruption to our business, increased costs, harm to our brand, and loss of customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial position. Furthermore, we may be unable to provide these services or implement substitute arrangements on a timely and cost-effective basis on terms favorable to us.

STRATEGIC RISK FACTORS

Our business is highly dependent upon our ability to identify and respond to new and changing fashion trends, customer preferences, and other related factors. Our inability to identify and respond to these new trends may lead to inventory markdowns and write-offs, which could adversely affect us and our brand image.

Our focus on fashion-conscious young women and men means that we have a target market of customers whose preferences cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to frequent change. Our success depends in large

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part upon our ability to effectively identify and respond to changing fashion trends and consumer demands and to translate market trends into desired product offerings. Our failure to identify and react appropriately to new and changing fashion trends or tastes, to accurately forecast demand for certain product offerings, or to effectively market or merchandise our products could lead to, among other things, excess or insufficient amounts of inventory, markdowns, write-offs, and lower product margins, any of which could materially adversely affect our business. Because our success depends significantly on our brand image, damage to our brand image as a result of our failure to identify and respond to changing fashion trends could have a material negative impact on us.

We often place orders for the manufacture and purchase of merchandise, including fabric, well ahead of the season in which that merchandise will be sold. Therefore, we are vulnerable to changes in consumer preference and demand, and pricing shifts, between the time we design and order our merchandise and the season in which this merchandise will be sold. There can be no assurance that we will be able to adequately and timely respond to the preferences of our customers. The failure of any of our product offerings to appeal to our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our sales, profitability, and cash levels fluctuate on a seasonal basis and are affected by a variety of factors, including consumer demand, our product offerings relative to customer demand, the mix of merchandise we offer, promotions, inventory levels, and our sales mix between stores and eCommerce.

Our sales and results of operations are affected on a seasonal basis by a variety of factors, including consumer demand, our product offerings relative to customer demand, changes in our merchandise mix, the timing, number, and types of promotions we offer, actions of our competitors or mall anchor tenants, the ratio of online sales to store sales, the effectiveness of our inventory management, holiday and seasonal periods, changes in general economic conditions and consumer spending patterns, customer traffic, and weather conditions. As a result, our results of operations fluctuate on a quarterly basis and relative to corresponding periods in prior years, and any of these factors could adversely affect our business and could cause our financial results to decline. For example, our third and fourth quarter net sales are impacted by early Fall shopping trends and the holiday season. Any significant decrease in net sales during the early Fall selling period or the holiday season would have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, in order to prepare for these seasons, we must order and keep in stock significantly more merchandise than we carry during other parts of the year. This inventory build-up may require us to expend cash faster than we generate it by our operations during this period. Any unanticipated decrease in demand for our products during these peak shopping seasons could require us to sell excess inventory at a substantial markdown. Our profitability is negatively impacted by the shift of sales from stores, which have higher fixed costs, to eCommerce, which has higher variable costs. A continued shift in sales away from stores to eCommerce, which has been accelerated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

Our business depends in part on a strong brand image. If we are unable to maintain and enhance our brand, or our brand reputation is damaged for any reason, we may fail to attract customers and suffer a significant decline in sales.

Our ability to maintain our reputation and meet the expectations of our customers is critical to our brand image. Our reputation could be jeopardized if we fail to maintain high standards for merchandise quality and customer experience, fail to maintain high ethical, social, and environmental standards for all of our operations and activities, or we fail to appropriately respond to concerns associated with any of the foregoing or any other concerns from our customers. Failure to comply with local laws and regulations, to maintain an effective system of internal controls, to protect our customer data, or to provide accurate and timely financial statement information could also hurt our reputation. Our position or perceived lack of position on environmental, social, governance, public policy or other similar issues, including any actions we have taken in response to COVID-19, and any perceived lack of transparency about those matters could also harm our reputation with consumers or investors. We also rely on franchisees to help us maintain our brand image and any failure to do so could have a negative impact on us.

In addition, in recent years there has been increase in social media platforms and our use of social media platforms is an important element of our omnichannel marketing efforts, which became increasingly more important during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to stay connected to our customers. For example, we maintain various social media accounts. Actions taken by individuals that we partner with, such as brand representatives, influencers or our associates, that fail to represent our brand in a manner consistent with our brand image or act in a way that harms their reputation, whether through our social media platforms or their own, could harm our brand reputation and materially impact our business. Social media also allows for anyone to provide public feedback that could influence perceptions of our brand and reduce demand for our merchandise.

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Damage to our reputation or loss of consumer confidence for any of these reasons, may reduce demand for our products and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations, as well as require additional resources to rebuild our reputation.

Consumer behavior is rapidly changing, and if we are unable to successfully adapt to consumer shopping preferences and develop and maintain a relevant and reliable omnichannel experience for our customers, our financial performance and brand image could be adversely affected.

Our business continues to evolve from a largely brick-and-mortar retail business to an omnichannel retail business. While historically we interacted with our customers largely through our in-store experience, the traditional mall retail landscape is changing and increasingly we interact with our customers across a variety of different channels, including in-store, online at www.express.com, through mobile technologies, including the Express mobile app, and social media. Our customers are increasingly using tablets and mobile phones to make purchases online and to help them in making purchasing decisions when in our stores. Our customers also engage with us online, including through social media, by providing feedback and public commentary about all aspects of our business. Consumer shopping patterns are rapidly changing and our success depends on our ability to anticipate and implement innovations in customer experience and logistics in order to appeal to customers who increasingly rely on multiple channels to meet their shopping needs. If for any reason we are unable to implement our omnichannel initiatives, provide a convenient and consistent experience for our customers across all channels, or provide our customers the products they want, when and where they want them at a compelling value proposition, then our financial performance and brand image could be adversely affected.

We depend on key executive management and may not be able to retain or replace these individuals or recruit additional personnel, which could harm our business.

We depend on the leadership and experience of our key executive management. The loss of the services of any of our key executives could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects, as we may not be able to find suitable individuals to replace them on a timely basis or without incurring increased costs, or at all. We believe that our future success will depend greatly on our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled and qualified personnel. There is a high level of competition for experienced, successful talent in the retail industry. Our inability to meet our talent requirements in the future could impair our growth and harm our business.

Our corporate strategy includes: engaging our customers and acquiring new ones, executing with precision to accelerate sales and profitability, putting product first, and reinvigorating our brand. Failure in any of these areas could have a material negative effect on the value of the Company.

Our ability to improve the profitability of the Company is dependent on our ability to deliver compelling new merchandise at an attractive value, retain and acquire new customers, grow our retail business, expand our omnichannel capabilities, provide an exceptional customer experience, optimize our store footprint, and manage our overall cost structure. The success of these initiatives is dependent on a number of factors. For example, our ability to deliver compelling new merchandise at an attractive value is dependent on our ability to accurately forecast fashion trends and customer demand for products. Also, given the rapid pace of change, our ability to execute with precision, put product first, reinvigorate our brand, and engage current customers and acquire new customers may require significant financial investments that may not provide a return in the near term or at all.

Our ability to close stores, convert retail stores to outlet stores, or make other changes to our store fleet is limited by the terms of our existing leases. We are also reliant upon our ability to obtain desirable store locations, negotiate acceptable leases, and open stores on budget and in a timely manner. We historically have received landlord allowances related to store build outs which offset certain capital expenditures we must make to open a new store. If landlord allowances cease to be available to us in the future or are decreased, opening new stores would require more capital outlay.

Implementing any strategic initiative presents significant potential risk that may impair our ability to achieve anticipated operating improvements and cost reductions. These risks include, among others, higher than anticipated costs in implementing our corporate strategy, inability to achieve expected cost savings opportunities, management distraction from ongoing business activities, failure to maintain adequate controls and procedures while executing our corporate strategy, inability to execute our fleet rationalization plans, competition, prolonged ramp up time, challenges to product differentiation, damage to our reputation and brand image, workforce attrition beyond planned levels, and our inability to gather accurate and relevant data or effectively use that data, which may impact our strategic planning, marketing and overall decision making. Furthermore, our efforts to reduce expenses may have

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an adverse impact on our ability to achieve our strategic objectives by limiting the funding necessary to achieve such objectives or may impact product quality or in-store customer experience as we seek to reduce costs in our supply chain. Successful execution of our corporate strategy is dependent on our ability to achieve our strategic objectives. Failure to achieve any of our strategic objectives could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations and there can be no guarantee that we will achieve our strategic objectives or that our corporate strategy will result in improved operating results or an increase in the value of the business.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY RISK FACTORS

We rely significantly on information systems and any failure, inadequacy, interruption, or security failure of those systems could harm our ability to effectively operate our business, cause a decrease in our net sales, increase our expenses, and harm our reputation.

Our ability to effectively manage and maintain our inventory, ship products to our stores and our customers on a timely basis, communicate with our customers, conduct customer transactions, and otherwise operate our business depends significantly on our information systems. The failure of our information systems to operate effectively, problems with transitioning to upgraded or replacement systems, or a breach in security of these systems could adversely impact our merchandise distribution, transaction processing, financial accounting and reporting, the efficiency of our operations, and our ability to properly forecast earnings and cash requirements. We could be required to make significant additional expenditures to remediate any such failure, problem, or breach, and may be subject to legal claims as a result of such failure. To effectively carry out our growth strategy, we will need to continue to invest funds in order to maintain and improve our systems. Delays or issues during such implementations may have a material adverse effect on us.

We sell merchandise through our website, www.express.com. Our online sales may be adversely affected by interruptions in our ability to conduct sales through our website, due to failure of computer systems, failure of third-party technology and service providers on which we rely, telecommunications failures, security breaches, denial of service attacks, sabotage, or similar disruptions. Furthermore, functionality on our website may be limited or interrupted to the extent technology we use becomes the subject of a patent or other intellectual property dispute and we are unable to secure a license to use such technology or develop alternative functionality.

In addition, we may be the target of attempted cybersecurity attacks, computer viruses, malicious code, phishing attacks, denial of service attacks and other information security threats. The risk of such information security threats has been heightened by the substantial increase in the number of our employees who have been and continue to work from home due to internal policies put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, external events, like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, can increase the likelihood of cybersecurity attacks. To date, cybersecurity attacks have not had a material impact on our financial condition, results or business; however, we could suffer material financial or other losses in the future and we are not able to predict the severity of these attacks. Our risk and exposure to these matters remains heightened because of, among other things, the evolving nature of these threats, the current global economic and political environment, our prominent size and scale, the outsourcing of some of our business operations, the ongoing market shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals, and the interconnectivity and interdependence of third parties to our systems. The techniques and sophistication used to conduct cybersecurity attacks and breaches, as well as the sources and targets of these attacks, change frequently and are often not recognized until such attacks are launched or have been in place for a period of time. Accordingly, our expenditures to prevent future cybersecurity attacks or breaches may not be successful.

The occurrence of a cybersecurity attack, breach, unauthorized access, misuse, computer virus, or other malicious code or other cybersecurity event could jeopardize or result in the unauthorized disclosure, gathering, monitoring, misuse, corruption, loss, or destruction of confidential and other information that belongs to us, our employees, our customers, our counterparties, or third-party service providers that is processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks. The occurrence of such an event could also result in damage to our software, computers or systems, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our counterparties’ or third parties’ operations. This could result in significant losses, loss of customers and business opportunities, reputational damage, litigation, regulatory fines, penalties or intervention, reimbursement or other compensatory costs, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Employee error, malfeasance, or other errors in the storage, use, or transmission of any such information could result in a disclosure of confidential information to third parties outside of our network. Any of these events could result in litigation and legal liability,

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harm to our reputation, loss of confidence in our ability to protect sensitive information, a distraction to our business, and the need to divert resources to remedy the issues, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

We may be exposed to risks and costs associated with the loss of customer information that would cause us to incur unexpected expenses, loss of revenues, and reputational harm.

We collect customer data, including encrypted and tokenized credit card information, in our stores and online. For our sales channels to function successfully, we and third parties involved in processing customer transactions for us must be able to transmit confidential information, including credit card information, securely over public networks. While we have measures in place designed to prevent a breach or unauthorized use or disclosure of customer data and other sensitive personal information, we cannot guarantee that any of our security measures or the security measures of third parties with whom we work will effectively prevent others from obtaining unauthorized access to our customers’ information or other personally identifiable information. Further, the standards for systems currently used for transmission and approval of electronic payment transactions, and the technology utilized in electronic payment themselves, all of which can put electronic payment data at risk, are determined and controlled by the payment card industry, not by us. If someone is able to circumvent our data security measures or that of third parties with whom we do business, including our franchisees, he or she could destroy or steal valuable information or disrupt our operations. If such a breach were to occur, customers could lose confidence in our ability to secure their information and choose not to purchase from us. Any unauthorized use of or access to customer information could expose us to data loss or manipulation, litigation and legal liability, and could seriously disrupt operations, negatively impact our marketing capabilities, cause us to incur significant expenses to notify customers of the breach and for other remediation activities, and harm our reputation and brand, any of which could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

In addition, state, federal, and foreign governments are increasingly enacting laws and regulations to protect consumers against identity theft and consumer privacy. Many of these laws and regulations are subject to uncertain application, interpretation or enforcement standards that could result in claims, changes to our business practices, data processing and security systems, penalties, increased operation costs or other impacts on our business. These laws and regulations will likely increase the costs of doing business, and if we fail to implement appropriate procedures, security measures, or detect and provide prompt notice of unauthorized access as required by some of these laws and regulations, we could be subject to potential claims for damages and other remedies, government enforcement actions, liability for monetary damages, fines and/or criminal prosecution, all of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

FINANCIAL RISK FACTORS

We have, and will continue to have, significant lease obligations. We are subject to risks associated with leasing substantial amounts of space, including future increases in occupancy costs and the need to generate significant cash flow to meet our lease obligations.

We have, and will continue to have, significant lease obligations. We lease all of our store locations, our corporate offices, and our central distribution facility. We typically occupy our stores under operating leases with options to renew for additional multi-year periods. In the future, we may not be able to negotiate favorable lease terms for the most desired store locations. Our inability to do so may cause our occupancy costs to be higher in future years or may force us to close stores in desirable locations.

Some of our leases have early cancellation clauses, which permit the lease to be terminated by us or the landlord if certain sales levels are not met in specific periods or if the center does not meet specified occupancy standards. In addition to future minimum lease payments, some of our store leases provide for additional rental payments based on a percentage of net sales, or “percentage rent,” if sales at the respective stores exceed specified levels, as well as the payment of common area maintenance charges, real property insurance, energy costs, and real estate taxes. Many of our lease agreements have defined escalating rent provisions over the initial term and any extensions.

We depend on cash flow from operations to pay our lease expenses. If our business does not generate sufficient cash flow from operating activities to fund these expenses, due to continued decreases in mall traffic, the highly competitive retail environment, or other factors, we may not be able to service our lease expenses, which could materially harm our business. Furthermore, the significant cash flow required to satisfy our obligations under the leases increases our vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry, and competitive conditions,

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 20

and could limit our ability to fund working capital, incur indebtedness, and make capital expenditures or other investments in our business.

If an existing or future store is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease including, among other things, paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. Moreover, even if a lease has an early cancellation clause, we may not satisfy the contractual requirements for early cancellation under that lease. As of January 29, 2022, our minimum annual rental obligations under long-term lease arrangements for 2022 and 2023 were $222.7 million and $209.4 million, respectively. Our inability to enter into new leases or renew existing leases on terms acceptable to us or be released from our obligations under leases for stores that we close could materially adversely affect us.

The terms of our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility may restrict our current and future operations, which could adversely affect our ability to respond to changes in our business and to manage our operations.

We are party to an Asset Based Loan Credit Agreement ("Amended Revolving Credit Facility") that allows us to borrow up to $250.0 million, subject to certain terms and conditions contained in the agreement. As of January 29, 2022, we had $145.8 million available for borrowing under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility. In addition, we are party to an Asset-Based Term Loan Agreement ("Term Loan Facility") that provides for a “first in, last out” term loan in an amount equal to $90.0 million (the “FILO Term Loan”) and a delayed draw term loan facility in an amount equal to $50.0 million (the “DDTL”). As of January 29, 2022, the Company had $90.0 million in borrowings outstanding under the Term Loan Facility and $6.7 million in borrowings outstanding under the DDTL. The Term Loan Facility is a senior secured obligation that ranks equally with the Loan Parties’ other senior secured obligations.

The terms of the Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility contain, and any agreements governing any future indebtedness may contain, financial restrictions on us and our ability to, among other things:

•place liens on our assets;

•make investments other than permitted investments;

•incur additional indebtedness;

•prepay certain indebtedness;

•merge, consolidate or dissolve;

•sell assets;

•engage in transactions with affiliates;

•change the nature of our business;

•hold cash above certain limits;

•change our fiscal year or organizational documents; and

•make other restricted payments, including share repurchases and dividends.

In addition, we are required to maintain, certain levels of Excess Availability as calculated in accordance with the Amended Revolving Credit Facility.

A failure by us to comply with the covenants or to maintain the required financial ratios contained in the Amended Revolving Credit Facility or the Term Loan Facility could result in an event of default under such indebtedness, which could adversely affect our ability to respond to changes in our business and manage our operations. Upon the occurrence of an event of default, the lenders under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility or Term Loan Facility could elect to declare all amounts outstanding to be due and payable and exercise other remedies as set forth in the agreements. There could be potentially significant negative consequences on our financial condition and results of operations as a result of our debt, including limitations on our ability to obtain additional debt or equity financing for working capital, capital expenditures, service line development, acquisitions and general corporate or other purposes, as well as limitations on our ability to execute business development and other activities to support our corporate strategies. See Note 6 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information relating to our indebtedness.

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If we are unable to maintain compliance with the covenants contained in our current credit facilities or our inventory levels are reduced significantly, we may be unable to make additional borrowings on any undrawn amounts and may be required to repay our then outstanding debt under the facilities. In addition, global economic conditions may make it more difficult to access new credit facilities.

Our liquidity position is, in part, dependent upon our ability to borrow under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility. The amount we are able to borrow is dependent on our inventory and receivable position. On March 17, 2020, we drew down $165.0 million under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility. In addition, in January 2021, we borrowed $90.0 million under our Term Loan Facility and repaid $59.0 million of our Amended Revolving Credit Facility. During 2021, we borrowed $50.0 million on the DDTL and repaid $43.3 million upon receipt of portion of our Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") receivable. We also repaid a net additional $71.1 million on the Amended Revolving Credit Facility. Decreases in our inventory position or receivable balances could limit the amount we are able to borrow or could also cause us to violate our minimum excess availability covenant, in addition to other customary affirmative and negative covenants, including those which (subject to certain exceptions and dollar thresholds) limit our ability to incur debt; incur liens; make investments; engage in mergers, consolidations, liquidations or acquisitions; dispose of assets; make distributions on or repurchase equity securities; hold cash over certain limits; engage in transactions with affiliates; and prohibit us, with certain exceptions, from engaging in any line of business not related to our current line of business. A failure to comply with the financial covenants under our credit facility would give rise to an event of default under the terms of the credit facility, allowing the lenders to refuse to lend additional available amounts to us and giving them the right to terminate the facility and accelerate repayment of any outstanding debt under the credit agreements.

We may recognize impairment on long-lived assets.

Our long-lived assets, primarily store assets and right of use assets, are subject to periodic testing for impairment. Store assets are reviewed using factors including, but not limited to, our future operating plans, current rental rates and projected future cash flows. Failure to achieve our future operating plans, our cost savings initiatives or generate sufficient levels of cash flow at our stores, in addition to significant negative industry or general economic trends and declining market rents, could result in impairment charges on long-lived assets, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

REGULATORY AND LEGAL RISK FACTORS

There are claims made against us from time to time that can result in litigation or regulatory proceedings which could distract management from our business activities and result in significant liability.

We face the risk of litigation and other claims against us. Litigation and other claims arise in the ordinary course of our business and include commercial disputes, employment related claims, including wage and hour claims, intellectual property disputes, such as trademark, copyright, and patent infringement disputes, consumer protection and privacy matters, product-related allegations, and premises liability claims. See Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company has been named as a defendant in four separate representative actions in the State of California – one of which has since settled – alleging violations of the California state wage and hour statutes and other labor standards.

Any claims could result in litigation against us and could also result in regulatory proceedings being brought against us by various federal and state agencies that regulate our business, including the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Often these cases raise complex factual and legal issues, which are subject to risks and uncertainties and could require significant management time and divert management attention away from our business operations. Litigation and other claims and regulatory proceedings against us could result in unexpected expenses, legal liability, and injunctions against us or restrictions placed upon us, which could disrupt our operations, preclude us from selling products, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our operations, financial results, and reputation.

Changes in laws, including employment laws and laws related to our merchandise, could make conducting our business more expensive or otherwise change the way we do business.

We are subject to numerous laws and regulations, including labor and employment, product safety, customs, consumer protection, privacy, zoning laws and ordinances, intellectual property laws, and other laws that regulate retailers generally or govern the import and export of goods, advertising and promotions, the sale of merchandise,

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 22

product content, and the operation of stores, our website, and warehouse facilities. If these regulations were to change or were violated by our management, employees, vendors, or buying agents, the costs of certain goods could increase, or we could experience delays in shipments of our goods, be subject to damages, fines or penalties, or suffer reputational harm, which could reduce demand for our merchandise and hurt our business and results of operations.

In addition to increased regulatory compliance requirements, changes in laws could make ordinary conduct of our business more expensive or require us to change the way we do business. For example, changes in federal and state minimum wage laws could continue to raise the wage requirements for certain of our employees. Other laws related to employee benefits and treatment of employees, including laws related to limitations on employee hours, work scheduling, supervisory status, leaves of absence, mandated health benefits, or overtime pay, could also negatively impact us, by increasing administrative compensation and benefits costs.

Additionally, concern over climate change may result in new or additional legislative and regulatory requirements to reduce or mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment, which could result in future tax, transportation, inventory and utility increases, which could have a material adverse effect our business. Moreover, changes in product safety or other consumer protection laws, privacy laws, environmental laws, and other regulations, could lead to increased compliance costs. It is often difficult for us to plan and prepare for potential changes to applicable laws and future compliance costs related to such changes could be material to us.

We may be unable to protect our trademarks or other intellectual property rights, may be precluded from using trademarks in certain countries, and may face claims from third parties for intellectual property infringement, any of which could harm our business.

We rely on certain trademark registrations and common law trademark rights to protect the distinctiveness of our brand. However, there can be no assurance that the actions we have taken to establish and protect our trademarks will be adequate to prevent imitation of our trademarks by others or to prevent others from claiming that sales of our products infringe, dilute, or otherwise violate third-party trademarks or other proprietary rights that could block sales of our products.

The laws of certain foreign countries may not protect the use of unregistered trademarks to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. As a result, international protection of our brand may be limited, and our right to use our trademarks outside the United States could be impaired. Other persons or entities may have rights to trademarks that contain portions of our marks or may have registered similar or competing marks for apparel and/or accessories in foreign countries. There may also be other prior registrations of trademarks identical or similar to our trademarks in other foreign countries. Accordingly, it may be possible for others to prevent the sale or manufacture of our branded goods or the operation of Express brick-and-mortar or online stores in certain foreign countries. Our inability to register our trademarks or purchase or license the right to use the relevant trademarks in these jurisdictions could limit our ability to penetrate new markets in jurisdictions outside the United States.

Litigation may be necessary to protect and enforce our trademarks and other intellectual property rights, or to defend against claims by third parties alleging that we infringe, dilute, or otherwise violate third-party trademarks or other intellectual property rights. Any litigation or claims brought by or against us, whether with or without merit, and whether successful or not, could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows. Any intellectual property litigation or claims against us could result in the loss or compromise of our intellectual property rights, could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses on unfavorable terms, if available at all, prevent us from manufacturing or selling certain products, limit our ability to market or sell to our customers using certain methods or technologies, and/or require us to redesign or re-label our products or rename our brand, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.

Changes in tax law, tax requirements, results of tax audits, and other factors, including timing of tax refund receipts, may cause fluctuations in our effective tax rate and operating results.

We are subject to income tax in local, national, and international jurisdictions and we currently have significant income tax refunds that are receivable from the U.S. government based on provisions in the CARES Act. Any legislative changes to the CARES Act or significant delays in receiving our tax refund could adversely impact our financial position and results. In addition, our tax returns and other tax matters are subject to examination by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") and other tax authorities and governmental bodies. These examinations may challenge certain of our tax positions, such as the timing and amount of deductions and allocations of taxable

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 23

income to various jurisdictions. The results of any tax audits could adversely affect our financial results. Furthermore, our effective tax rate in a given period may be materially impacted by changes in the mix and level of earnings by taxing jurisdiction and deductibility of stock based compensation.

Our products are subject to import and excise duties and/or sales or value-added taxes in many jurisdictions. Major changes in tax law, policy or trade relations, including but not limited to the foregoing, as well as the imposition of unilateral tariffs on imported products, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and liquidity.

If we fail to establish and maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting, we may not be able to report our financial results in a timely and reliable manner, which could harm our business and impact the value of our securities.

We depend on our ability to produce accurate and timely financial statements in order to run our business. If we fail to do so, our business could be negatively affected and our independent registered public accounting firm may be unable to attest to the fair presentation of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports and effectively prevent fraud, our reputation and operating results could be harmed. Even effective internal controls have inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Therefore, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. In addition, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting in future periods are subject to the risk that the control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or a deterioration in the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures.

If we fail to maintain adequate internal controls, including any failure to implement new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their execution, we could fail to meet our reporting obligations, and there could be a material adverse effect on our business and financial results. In the event that our current control practices deteriorate, we may be unable to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud, and investor confidence and the market price of our stock may be adversely affected.

STOCK OWNERSHIP RISK FACTORS

Our ability to pay dividends and repurchase shares is subject to restrictions in our Amended Revolving Credit Facility, Term Loan Facility, results of operations, and capital requirements.

Any determination to pay dividends or repurchase additional shares in the future will be at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend upon our results of operations, our financial condition, restrictions imposed by applicable law, and other factors our Board of Directors deems relevant. Our ability to pay dividends on or repurchase our common stock is limited by the terms of the Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility and may be further restricted by the terms of any future debt or preferred securities. Additionally, because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends on our common stock or repurchase shares is limited by restrictions on the ability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions to us, including restrictions under the terms of the Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and Delaware law may discourage or delay acquisition attempts for us that our stockholders might consider favorable.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of the Company or a change in our management or Board of Directors more difficult without the approval of our Board of Directors. These provisions do the following:

•establish a classified Board of Directors so that not all members of our Board of Directors are elected at one time;

•authorize the issuance of undesignated preferred stock, the terms of which may be established, and the shares of which may be issued without stockholder approval, and which may include super voting, special approval, dividend, or other rights or preferences superior to the rights of the holders of common stock;

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•prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders; and

•establish advance notice requirements for nominations for elections to our Board of Directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at stockholder meetings.

Our certificate of incorporation also contains a provision that provides us with protections similar to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, that will prevent us from engaging in a business combination with a person who acquires at least 15% of our common stock for a period of 3 years from the date such person acquired such common stock, unless Board or stockholder approval is obtained prior to the acquisition. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions under Delaware law could discourage, delay, or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our company, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors of their choosing and to cause us to take other corporate actions desired by stockholders.

As a result of the extreme volatility of the market prices and trading volume that our shares of common stock have recently experienced, and may in the future again experience, purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses.

The extreme volatility of the market prices and trading volume that our shares of common stock have recently experienced, and may continue to experience could cause purchasers of our common stock to incur substantial losses. Significant fluctuations in the market price of our common stock have been accompanied by reports of strong and atypical retail investor interest, including on social media and online forums. The market volatility and trading patterns we have experienced create several risks for investors, including the following:

•the market price of our common stock may experience rapid and substantial increases or decreases unrelated to our operating performance, financial condition or business prospects, or macro or industry fundamentals, and substantial increases may be significantly inconsistent with the risks and uncertainties that we continue to face;

•factors in the public trading market for our common stock may include the sentiment of retail investors (including as may be expressed on financial trading and other social media sites and online forums), the direct access by retail investors to broadly available trading platforms, the amount and status of short interest in our securities, access to margin debt, trading in options and other derivatives on our common stock and any related hedging and other trading factors;

•our market capitalization, as implied by various trading prices, has reflected valuations that diverge significantly from those seen prior to recent volatility and that are significantly higher than our market capitalization immediately prior to such recent volatility, and to the extent these valuations reflect trading dynamics unrelated to our financial performance or business prospects, purchasers of our common stock could incur substantial losses if there are declines in market prices driven by a return to earlier valuations;

•to the extent volatility in our common stock is caused by a “short squeeze” in which coordinated trading activity causes a spike in the market price of our common stock as traders with a short position make market purchases to avoid or to mitigate potential losses, investors may purchase at inflated prices unrelated to our financial performance or prospects, and may thereafter suffer substantial losses as prices decline once the level of short-covering purchases has abated;

•if the market price of our common stock declines, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the price at which you acquired them. We cannot assure you that the equity issuance of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future, in which case you could incur substantial losses.

We may continue to incur rapid and substantial increases or decreases in our stock price in the foreseeable future that may not coincide in timing with the disclosure of news or developments by or affecting us. Accordingly, the market price of our shares of common stock may fluctuate dramatically, and may decline rapidly, regardless of any developments in our business.

Overall, there are various factors, many of which are beyond our control, that could negatively affect the market price of our common stock or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock, including: (1) the ongoing impacts and developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) actual or anticipated variations in our annual or quarterly results of operations, including our earnings estimates and whether we meet market expectations with regard to our earnings; (3) our current inability to pay dividends or other distributions; (4) publication of research reports by analysts or others about us or the specialty retail industry, which may be

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 25

unfavorable, inaccurate, inconsistent or not disseminated on a regular basis; (5) changes in market interest rates that may cause purchasers of our shares to demand a different yield; (6) changes in market valuations of similar companies; (7) market reaction to any additional equity, debt or other securities that we may issue in the future, and which may or may not dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders; (8) additions or departures of key personnel; (9) actions by institutional or significant stockholders; (10) short interest in our stock and the market response to such short interest; (11) the dramatic increase in the number of individual holders of our stock and their participation in social media platforms targeted at speculative investing; (12) speculation in the press or investment community about our company or industry; (13) strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions or other investments; (14) legislative, administrative, regulatory or other actions affecting our business, our industry, including positions taken by the IRS; (15) investigations, proceedings, or litigation that involve or affect us; (16) the occurrence of any of the other risk factors included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement; and (17) general market and economic conditions.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

HOME OFFICE, DISTRIBUTION CENTER, DESIGN STUDIO AND PHOTO STUDIO

The lease for our corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ohio and the lease for our distribution facility in Columbus, Ohio are both scheduled to terminate in January 2026. Either lease may be terminated by either party upon 36 months prior notice provided that the lease term may not end between the months of October and February. Termination of either lease will cause the termination of the other lease as well.

The lease for our design offices in New York City expires in July 2026. The lease of our photo studio in downtown Columbus, Ohio expires in December 2024.

STORES

All of our 561 stores are leased from third parties. See "Item 1. Business - Stores" for further information on the locations of our stores.

We may from time to time lease new facilities or vacate existing facilities as our operations require, including in connection with opening new stores.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

Information relating to legal proceedings is set forth in Note 11 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

Our common stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol "EXPR". As of February 26, 2022, there were approximately 11 holders of record of our common stock. The number of holders of record is based upon the actual number of holders registered at such date and does not include holders of shares in “street name,” or persons, partnerships, associates, corporations, or other entities identified in security position listings maintained by depositories.

DIVIDENDS

We did not pay any dividends in 2021 or 2020. Our ability to pay dividends is restricted by the terms of our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and our Term Loan Facility. Any future determination to pay dividends will be made at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our results of operations, restrictions contained in our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and our Term Loan Facility or future financing arrangements, and other factors as deemed relevant. For more information about the restrictions in our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and our Term Loan Facility, see Note 6 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SHARE REPURCHASES

The following table provides information regarding the purchase of shares of our common stock made by or on behalf of us or any "affiliated purchaser" as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Exchange Act of 1934, during each month of the quarterly period ended January 29, 2022:

Month	Total Number of Shares Purchased (1)	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs	Approximate Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet be Purchased under the Plans or Programs (2)
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)
October 31, 2021 - November 27, 2021	2	$	4.31	—	$	34,215
November 28, 2021 - January 1, 2022	4	$	3.12	—	$	34,215
January 2, 2022 - January 29, 2022	6	$	3.15	—	$	34,215
Total	12			—

1.Represents shares purchased in connection with employee tax withholding obligations under the Second Amended and Restated Express, Inc. 2018 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2018 Plan”). Refer to Note 8 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details of the 2018 Plan.

2.On November 28, 2017, the Board approved a share repurchase program that authorized the Company to repurchase up to $150.0 million of the Company’s outstanding common stock using available cash. The Company may repurchase shares on the open market, including through Rule 10b5-1 plans, in privately negotiated transactions, through block purchases, or otherwise in compliance with applicable laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Exchange Act of 1934. The timing and amount of stock repurchases will depend on a variety of factors, including business and market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory considerations. The share repurchase program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time, and the Company has no obligation to repurchase any amount of its common stock under the program.

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PERFORMANCE GRAPH

The following graph compares the changes in the cumulative total return to holders of our common stock with that of the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones U.S. Apparel Retailers Index for the same period. The comparison of the cumulative total returns for each investment assumes that $100 was invested in our common stock and the respective indexes on January 28, 2017 and includes reinvestment of all dividends. The plotted points are based on the closing price on the last trading day of each fiscal year.

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN

	1/28/17		2/3/18		2/2/19		2/1/20		1/30/21		1/29/22
Express, Inc.	$	100.00	$	65.58	$	52.07	$	39.55	$	59.17	$	28.60
S&P 500 Index	$	100.00	$	120.37	$	117.95	$	140.56	$	161.86	$	193.14
Dow Jones U.S. Apparel Retailers Index	$	100.00	$	109.41	$	118.60	$	131.47	$	139.65	$	150.90

The Performance Graph in this Item 5 shall not be deemed "soliciting material" or "filed" with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C under the Exchange Act of 1934 or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act of 1934 and will not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act of 1934, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such a filing.

ITEM 6.    REMOVED AND RESERVED.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.

The following discussion and analysis summarizes the significant factors affecting the consolidated operating results, financial condition, liquidity, and cash flows of the Company as of and for the periods presented below. The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the related Notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that are based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in the section entitled “Risk Factors.” All references herein to "2021" and "2020" refer to the 52-week periods ended January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, respectively.

This section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K generally discusses 2021 and 2020 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2021 and 2020. Discussions of 2019 items and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019 that are not included in this Form 10-K can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2021, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 2021.

Our management's discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is presented in the following sections:

	Page
Overview	29
COVID-19 Pandemic	29
Financial Details	30
Outlook	30
How We Assess the Performance of Our Business	31
Results of Operations	34
Liquidity and Capital Resources	37
Critical Accounting Estimates	40

OVERVIEW

Grounded in versatility and powered by a styling community, Express is a modern, multichannel apparel and accessories brand whose purpose is to Create Confidence & Inspire Self-Expression. Launched in 1980 with the idea that style, quality and value should all be found in one place, Express has been a part of some of the most important and culture-defining fashion trends. The Express Edit design philosophy ensures that the brand is always "of the now" so people can get dressed for every day and any occasion knowing that Express can help them look the way they want to look and feel the way they want to feel. We operate 561 retail and factory outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, the express.com online store and the Express mobile app.

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel strain of coronavirus ("COVID-19") a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures. Our business operations and financial performance have been materially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, we temporarily closed all of our retail and factory outlet stores and offices, and as a result all store associates and a number of home office employees were furloughed. As mandated shutdowns and stay-at-home orders went into effect across the country, we experienced an immediate reduction in sales levels compared to the prior year. We continued to be materially impacted by COVID-19 throughout fiscal year 2020, even after all of our stores re-opened, as customer traffic continued to be depressed, especially in our retail stores, and two of our key categories, wear to work and occasion wear, saw significant declines in demand.

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Beginning in the first quarter of 2021 and continuing throughout the balance of 2021, we have seen improved trends coinciding with the vaccination rollout and the lifting of COVID-19 related restrictions, especially in areas where COVID-19 guidelines were less restrictive. We continue to monitor and comply with all governmental regulations imposed.

Additionally, COVID-19 has contributed to disruptions and rising costs to global supply chains. Although we have successfully managed these challenges thus far, our ability to continue to replenish our inventory to meet continued levels of consumer demand could be impacted by further delays or disruptions. We expect these impacts to continue for as long as the global supply chain is experiencing these challenges. For additional information regarding risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors: Operational and Industry Risk Factors”.

FINANCIAL DETAILS FOR 2021

■Net sales increased 55% to $1.9 billion

■Comparable sales increased 37%

■Comparable retail sales (includes both retail stores and eCommerce sales) increased 41%

■Comparable outlet sales increased 27%

■Gross margin percentage increased 3,030 basis points to 29.9%

■Operating income increased $456.0 million to $0.8 million

■Net loss decreased $391.0 million to a loss of $14.4 million

■Diluted earnings per share increased $6.05 to a loss of $0.22

OUTLOOK

Our comparable sales accelerated in each of the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2021 and we delivered substantial gross margin expansion. We delivered positive operating income and operating cash flow for the year. The EXPRESSway Forward strategy has effectively galvanized our organization, advanced our brand, and accelerated our business. We believe our 2021 results demonstrate the power of this strategy.

The following defines each pillar of the EXPRESSway Forward strategy and provides an update on each priority:

PRODUCT BRAND CUSTOMER EXECUTION

Product

We completely reimagined our product, bringing more style, more versatility, and more newness across our entire assortment. We established a design and merchandising philosophy called the Express Edit that supports our brand promise: “to edit the best of now for real life versatility”. We are designing best-in-class, modern product at incredible value, and gaining market share across some of the most significant, volume-driving categories.

Express customers have always appreciated newness and relied on us to help them be 'of the now', so we have a consistent flow of fashion throughout the year in each category.

Our occasion-based categories that have historically been our strength, and were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, accelerated significantly as the year progressed. Dresses and men’s suits were particularly strong.

The foundation of every modern wardrobe is denim, and we completely reinvented our offering. We now offer a wide variety of fits, leg shape, innovative fabrics, colors and washes. For the last nine months of 2021, our denim had its best performance in recent history.

We introduced Express Essentials which are foundational pieces that help people build more flexible, versatile wardrobes. Our men’s polos and graphic t-shirts also delivered their best results in recent history.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 30

Brand

Restoring the relevance of the Express brand is a top priority. We have made good progress toward reinvigorating our brand, clarifying our message and articulating a clear, compelling brand purpose, to create confidence and inspire self-expression.

We have reinvented our marketing model, optimized the investment and allocation of our marketing spend, evolved to reflect where and how content is being consumed, and we are leveraging more social media platforms. Important indicators of the health and vitality of our brand, including brand tracking measures, social media engagement, and positive customer feedback, all continue to trend positively.

We have increased our spending on customer acquisition while decreasing spending related to store-wide and site-wide promotions, and reinvested those markdown dollars into marketing programs and activations that we believe drive customer traffic, engagement and conversion at much higher profits.

Customer

We are successfully engaging existing customers, acquiring new ones, and improving the quality of our customer file. Our Express Insider loyalty program brought in 2.7 million new customers and reactivated 2.2 million lapsed customers since its relaunch in the first quarter of 2021. We ended 2021 with the highest number of active loyalty members in the Company's history.

Execution

Outstanding execution helped accelerate sales across all channels. We refined our go-to-market process, advanced our multi-channel capabilities and identified meaningful operational and financial efficiencies. We have right sized our fleet, closed nearly 100 stores, and begun to execute a fleet optimization strategy. We effectively navigated supply chain challenges and applied strong financial discipline to both expenses and investments.

HOW WE ASSESS THE PERFORMANCE OF OUR BUSINESS

In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures. These key measures include net sales, comparable sales, eCommerce demand, transactions, cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs, gross profit/(loss)/gross margin, and selling, general, and administrative expenses. The following describes and discusses these measures.

Net Sales

Description

Revenue from the sale of merchandise, less returns and discounts, as well as shipping and handling revenue related to eCommerce, revenue from the rental of our LED sign in Times Square, gift card breakage, revenue earned from our private label credit card agreement, and revenue earned from our franchise agreements.

Discussion

Our business is seasonal, and we have historically realized a higher portion of our net sales in the third and fourth quarters, due primarily to the impact of the holiday season. Generally, approximately 45% of our annual net sales occur in the Spring season (first and second quarters) and 55% occur in the Fall season (third and fourth quarters).

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Comparable Sales

Description

Comparable sales is a measure of the amount of sales generated in a period relative to the amount of sales generated in the comparable prior year period. Comparable sales for 2021 was calculated using the 52-week period ended January 29, 2022 as compared to the 52-week period ended January 30, 2021.

Comparable retail sales includes:

•Sales from retail stores that were open 12 months or more as of the end of the reporting period

•eCommerce shipped sales

Comparable outlet sales includes:

•Sales from outlet stores that were open 12 months or more as of the end of the reporting period, including conversions

Comparable sales excludes:

•Sales from stores where the square footage has changed by more than 20% due to remodel or relocation activity

•Sales from stores in a phased remodel where a portion of the store is under construction and therefore not productive selling space

•Sales from stores where the store cannot open due to weather damage or other catastrophes, including pandemics

Discussion

Our business and our comparable sales are subject, at certain times, to calendar shifts, which may occur during key selling periods close to holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and regional fluctuations for events such as sales tax holidays. We believe comparable sales provides a useful measure for investors by removing the impact of new stores and closed stores. Management considers comparable sales a useful measure in evaluating continuing store performance.

eCommerce Demand

Description

eCommerce demand is defined as gross orders for Express and/or third party merchandise that originate through our eCommerce platform, including the website, app, and buy online pick-up in store.

Discussion

We believe eCommerce demand is a useful operational metric for investors and management as it provides visibility for orders placed but not yet shipped.

Transactions

Description

Transactions are defined as the number of customer point of sale interactions with customers.

Discussion

We believe this metric is useful as it provides a better indicator of the acceptance of our product.

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Cost of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy Costs

Description

Includes the following:

•Direct cost of purchased merchandise

•Inventory shrink and other adjustments

•Inbound and outbound freight

•Merchandising, design, planning and allocation, and manufacturing/production costs

•Occupancy costs related to store operations (such as rent and common area maintenance, utilities, and depreciation on assets)

•Logistics costs associated with our eCommerce business

•Impairments on long-lived assets and right of use lease assets

Discussion

Our cost of goods sold typically increases in higher volume quarters because the direct cost of purchased merchandise is tied to sales.

The primary drivers of the costs of individual goods are raw materials, labor in the countries where our merchandise is sourced, and logistics costs associated with transporting our merchandise.

Buying and occupancy costs related to stores are largely fixed and do not necessarily increase as volume increases.

Changes in the mix of products sold by type of product or by channel may also impact our overall cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs.

Extended periods of declined business and sales could result in additional impairment of our assets.

Gross Profit/(Loss)/Gross Margin

Description

Gross profit/(loss) is net sales minus cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs. Gross margin measures gross profit/(loss) as a percentage of net sales.

Discussion

Gross profit/(loss)/gross margin is impacted by the price at which we are able to sell our merchandise and the cost of our product.

We review our inventory levels on an on-going basis in order to identify slow-moving merchandise and generally use markdowns to clear such merchandise. The timing and level of markdowns are driven primarily by seasonality and customer acceptance of our merchandise and have a direct effect on our gross margin.

Any marked down merchandise that is not sold is marked-out-of-stock. We use third-party vendors to dispose of this marked-out-of-stock merchandise.

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

Description

Includes operating costs not included in cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs such as:

•Payroll and other expenses related to operations at our corporate offices

•Store expenses other than occupancy costs

•Marketing expenses, including production, mailing, print, and digital advertising costs, among other things

Discussion

With the exception of store payroll, certain marketing expenses, and incentive compensation, selling, general, and administrative expenses generally do not vary proportionally with net sales. As a result, selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales are usually higher in lower volume quarters and lower in higher volume quarters.

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FISCAL YEAR COMPARISON

Net Sales

	2021			2020
Net sales (in thousands)	$	1,870,296		$	1,208,374
Comparable retail sales	41		%	(29)		%
Comparable outlet sales	27		%	(21)		%
Total comparable sales percentage change	37		%	(27)		%
Gross square footage at end of period (in thousands)	4,686			4,841
Number of:
Stores open at beginning of period	570			595
New retail stores	—			1
New outlet stores	1			1
New Express Edit stores	6			1
New UpWest stores	8			—
Closed stores	(24)			(28)
Stores open at end of period	561			570

Net sales increased by approximately $661.9 million, or 55%, between 2021 and 2020. The sales increase was primarily attributed to our product and brand strategies resonating with our customers coupled with the vaccination rollout and the lifting of COVID-related restrictions during 2021, as compared to the material adverse impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on our business during 2020. Our retail comparable sales percentage increases were lower than our total retail sales percentage increases for 2021 due primarily to the impact of closed stores. This was due to our comparable sales calculation excluding sales for stores that were closed in the comparable period last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gross Profit/(Loss)

The following table shows cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs, gross profit/(loss) in dollars, and gross margin percentage for the stated periods:

	2021			2020
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Cost of goods sold, buying and occupancy costs	$	1,311,829		$	1,213,281
Gross profit/(loss)	$	558,467		$	(4,907)
Gross margin percentage	29.9		%	(0.4)		%

The 3,030 basis point increase in gross margin percentage, or gross profit/(loss) as a percentage of net sales, in 2021 compared to 2020 was comprised of a 1,300 basis point increase in merchandise margin and a 1,730 basis point decrease in buying and occupancy costs as a percentage of net sales. The increase in merchandise margin was primarily driven by positive customer response to our new receipts and significant reduction in promotional activity. The improvement in buying and occupancy leverage was driven by increased sales. In addition, we had a $34.4 million impairment related to certain long-lived store related assets and right of use assets in 2020. Refer to Note 2 in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding the impairment charges.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 34

Selling, General, and Administrative Expenses

The following table shows selling, general, and administrative expenses in dollars and as a percentage of net sales for the stated periods:

	2021			2020
	(in thousands, except percentages)
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	$	558,187		$	450,834
Selling, general, and administrative expenses, as a percentage of net sales	29.8		%	37.3		%

The $107.4 million increase in selling, general, and administrative expenses in 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily the result of an increase in variable costs driven by the sales increase, pandemic related store closures in 2020 and 2021 compensation related expenses and incremental investments in marketing.

Interest Expense, Net

The following table shows interest expense in dollars for the stated periods:

	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Interest expense, net	$	15,198	$	3,401

The $11.8 million increase in interest expense, net in 2021 compared to 2020 was the result of borrowing under our Term Loan Facility and Amended Revolving Credit Facility, which bear interest at variable rates. Refer to Note 6 in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding our borrowings during 2021.

Other (Income)/Expense, Net

The following table shows other (income)/expense in dollars for the stated periods:

	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Other (income)/expense, net	$	(298)	$	2,733

The $3.0 million decrease in other (income)/expense in 2021 compared to 2020 was the result of a $2.7 million pre-tax write-off of our remaining investment in Homage, LLC, a privately held retail apparel company based in Columbus, Ohio ("Homage") in 2020. Refer to Note 2 in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion regarding the write-off during 2020.

Income Tax Expense/(Benefit)

The following table shows income tax expense/(benefit) in dollars for the stated periods:

	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Income tax expense/(benefit)	$	315	$	(55,900)

The effective tax rate was (2.2)% in 2021 compared to 12.1% in 2020. The effective tax rate for 2021 was less than the statutory tax rate due to the impact of nondeductible executive compensation. The effective tax rate for 2020 was less than the statutory tax rate due to the impact of establishing a valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets, of which a portion relates to 2020 U.S. federal net operating losses that could not be carried back to offset taxable income in the five-year carryback period as part of the CARES Act. This was partially offset by a $42.1 million tax benefit related to the portion of the 2019 and 2020 U.S. federal net operating losses that are able to be carried back to years with a higher federal statutory tax rate than is currently enacted. Refer to Note 5 of the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding the tax rate.

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Operating Income/(Loss), Net Loss, Diluted Earnings Per Share and EBITDA

Included in the table below is operating income/(loss), net loss, diluted earnings per share and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ("EBITDA") for 2021 and 2020, respectively. We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under United States generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") with certain non-GAAP financial measures: adjusted operating income/(loss), adjusted net loss, adjusted diluted earnings per share and EBITDA. The following table presents these financial measures, each a non-GAAP financial measure, for the stated periods which eliminate certain non-core operating costs:

	2021			2020
	(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Operating income/(loss)	$	779		$	(455,215)
Adjusted operating income/(loss) (Non-GAAP)	$	779	*	$	(420,835)
Net loss	$	(14,436)		$	(405,449)
Adjusted net loss (Non-GAAP)	$	(14,957)		$	(314,343)
Diluted earnings per share	$	(0.22)		$	(6.27)
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (Non-GAAP)	$	(0.23)		$	(4.86)
EBITDA (Non-GAAP)	$	64,717		$	(384,689)

* No adjustments were made to operating income for 2021.

How These Measures Are Useful

We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide additional useful information to assist stockholders in understanding our financial results and assessing our prospects for future performance. Management believes adjusted operating income/(loss), adjusted net loss, adjusted diluted earnings per share and EBITDA are important indicators of our business performance because they exclude items that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, our underlying operating results, and may provide a better baseline for analyzing trends in the business. In addition, adjusted diluted earnings per share and EBITDA are used as performance measures in our long-term executive compensation program for purposes of determining the number of equity awards that are ultimately earned and EBITDA is also a metric used in our short-term cash incentive compensation plan.

Limitations of the Usefulness of These Measures

Because non-GAAP financial measures are not standardized, it may not be possible to compare these financial measures with other companies' non-GAAP financial measures having the same or similar names. These adjusted financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for reported net loss, operating income/(loss), or diluted earnings per share. These non-GAAP financial measures reflect an additional way of viewing our operations that, when viewed with the GAAP results and the below reconciliations to the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of our business. Management strongly encourages investors and stockholders to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

The following table reconciles the non-GAAP financial measures (adjusted operating income/(loss), adjusted net loss, and adjusted diluted earnings per share) with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures (operating income/(loss), net loss, and diluted earnings per share, respectively) for 2021 and 2020, respectively.

	2021
(in thousands, except per share amounts)	Operating Income		Income Tax Impact	Net Loss		Diluted Earnings per Share		Weighted Average Diluted Shares Outstanding
Reported GAAP Measure	$	779		$	(14,436)	$	(0.22)	66,448
Valuation allowance on deferred taxes (a)	—		(521)	(521)		(0.01)
Adjusted Non-GAAP Measure	$	779		$	(14,957)	$	(0.23)

a.Valuation allowance released due to utilization of deferred tax assets in the current year.

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	2020
(in thousands, except per share amounts)	Operating Loss		Income Tax Impact		Net Loss		Diluted Earnings per Share		Weighted Average Diluted Shares Outstanding
Reported GAAP Measure	$	(455,215)			$	(405,449)	$	(6.27)	64,624
Impairment of property, equipment and lease assets	34,380		(9,111)	(a)	25,269		0.39
Equity method investment impairment (b)	—		(642)		2,091		0.03
Valuation allowance on deferred taxes (c)	—		105,695		105,695		1.64
Tax impact of the CARES Act (d)	—		(42,060)		(42,060)		(0.65)
Tax impact of executive departures (e)	—		111		111		—
Adjusted Non-GAAP Measure	$	(420,835)			$	(314,343)	$	(4.86)

a.Items tax affected at the applicable deferred or statutory rate.

b.Impairment before tax was $2.7 million and was recorded in other expense, net.

c.Valuation allowance provided against previously recognized deferred tax assets and 2020 losses, less net operating losses utilized under the CARES Act.

d.Income tax benefit primarily due to a net operating loss carryback under the CARES Act to years with a higher federal statutory tax rate than is currently enacted.

e.Represents the tax impact related to the expiration of former executive non-qualified stock options.

The following table reconciles the non-GAAP financial measure EBITDA with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures for 2021 and 2020, respectively.

	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Net loss	$	(14,436)	$	(405,449)
Interest expense, net	15,198		3,401
Income tax expense/(benefit)	315		(55,900)
Depreciation and amortization	63,640		73,259
EBITDA (Non-GAAP Measure)	$	64,717	$	(384,689)

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

Forward-Looking Liquidity Discussion

Our liquidity position benefits from the fact that we generally collect cash from sales to customers the same day or, in the case of credit or debit card transactions, within three to five days of the related sale, and we have up to 75 days to pay certain merchandise vendors and 45 days to pay the majority of our non-merchandise vendors. We also have commitments under lease agreements and debt agreements that will require future cash outlays. For information on future payments required under lease agreements see Note 4 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and for future payment information related to our short-term and long-term debt see Note 6 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Based upon the sales and results of operations recovery seen during 2021, as well as the availability of additional liquidity under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility, and expense control and other measures taken to date, our liquidity position has improved significantly. We continue to be in compliance with the financial covenants under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility and plan to continue our cost reduction measures taken to date, and we are forecasting continued strength in both sales and profitability in 2022. We believe this will result in sufficient cash flows to support our ongoing operations and to meet our covenant requirements under the Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility for one year following the date that the Consolidated Financial Statements in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report are issued and beyond.

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As previously disclosed, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant disruption to our business. As a result, our revenues, results of operations and cash flows continued to be materially adversely impacted in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 but we saw significant improvement as the year progressed. For the 52-week period ended January 29, 2022, we reported a net loss of $14.4 million but positive operating cash flows of $89.4 million. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and our ongoing working capital requirements we continue to utilize our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and have $96.7 million outstanding under our Term Loan Facility including $6.7 million outstanding that will be repaid upon receipt of the CARES Act receivable. We have (and in the future may continue to have) a negative working capital balance. Our current liabilities include current operating lease liabilities, for which the corresponding operating right of use assets are recorded as non-current on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. However, the cash collected from our sales is typically collected before payment is due on our current liabilities. Subsequent to year-end, we have borrowed an additional $87.0 million to fund normal working capital needs. The Amended Revolving Credit Facility and the Term Loan Facility contain certain affirmative and negative covenants. Refer to Note 6 in our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further details regarding the Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility.

Analysis of Cash Flows

A summary of cash provided by or used in operating, investing, and financing activities is shown in the following table:

	2021		2020
	(in thousands)
Provided by (used in) operating activities	$	89,380	$	(323,626)
Used in investing activities	(34,771)		(16,854)
(Used in) provided by financing activities	(69,307)		189,215
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(14,698)		(151,265)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	41,176	$	55,874

Operating Activities

Our business historically relies on cash flows from operations as our primary source of liquidity, with the majority of those cash flows being generated in the fourth quarter of the year. Our primary operating cash needs are for merchandise inventories, payroll, store rent and marketing. Net cash provided by operating activities was $89.4 million in 2021 compared to $323.6 million used in operating activities in 2020. The $413.0 million improvement in cash flows from operating activities for 2021 as compared to 2020 was primarily driven by the temporary closure of our stores as a result of COVID-19 during 2020 and our improved operating results during 2021. In addition, we received approximately $60.0 million of CARES Act receivables during 2021 ($43.3 million and $13.7 million related to our 2020 and 2019 income tax returns, respectively, and $3.0 million related to the employee retention credit). This was partially offset by the fact that we did not initially make our store rent payments for April, May or June of 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 related store closures. We established an accrual for the rent payments that were not made and have continued to recognize accrued rent expense. As a result of negotiations with certain landlords, we have since made rent payments for the majority of stores and some landlords have agreed to abate certain rent payments. The appropriate adjustments were made to accrued rent and are reflected in the cash flows from operations.

Investing Activities

We also use cash for investing activities. Our capital expenditures consist primarily of new and remodeled store construction and fixtures and investments in information technology. We had capital expenditures of approximately $34.8 million in 2021 and $16.9 million in 2020. The increase in investing activities in 2021 was primarily driven by investments in information technology to support our strategic business initiatives.

Financing Activities

Credit Facilities

On January 13, 2021, we entered into a definitive loan agreement with Sycamore Partners as lead lender, along with Wells Fargo and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The new financing included a $90.0 million FILO Term Loan

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 38

received in 2020, and a $50.0 million Delayed Draw Term Loan ("DDTL"), that was drawn down in March 2021. During 2021, we received approximately $43.3 million of CARES Act income tax refunds that was used to repay a portion of the DDTL. The remainder of the CARES Act tax refunds are expected to be received in 2022, at which time we will be required to repay the remaining balance on the DDTL. This financing is in addition to our existing $250.0 million Amended Revolving Credit Facility under which we drew down $165.0 million in the first quarter of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Upon the receipt of the proceeds from the FILO Term Loan, we repaid $59.0 million of the amount borrowed under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility, and during 2021, we repaid a net additional $71.1 million. The expiration date of the facilities is May 24, 2024.

As of January 29, 2022, the net amount outstanding under our facilities was $128.8 million, of which $11.2 million is classified as short-term debt and $117.6 million is classified as long-term debt on the Consolidated Balance Sheet, net of unamortized costs, and approximately $145.8 million was available for borrowing under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility subject to certain borrowing base limitations and after outstanding letters of credit in the amount of $34.6 million, primarily related to our third party logistics contract. Refer to Note 6 of our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information on our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility.

Share Repurchases

On November 28, 2017, the Board approved a share repurchase program that authorizes us to repurchase up to $150.0 million of our outstanding common stock using available cash. During 2021 and 2020, we did not repurchase shares under the stock repurchase program.

ATM Equity Offering Sales Agreement

On June 3, 2021, we entered into an ATM Equity Offering Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofA”), as the sales agent to sell up to 15.0 million shares of our common stock, par value $0.01 per share, through an “at-the-market” offering program. Such shares are issued pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-253368) filed with the SEC on April 6, 2021. During 2021, we did not sell any shares under the Sales Agreement. We intend to use net proceeds, if any, from the sale of the common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement for general corporate purposes, which may include investments in working capital, or capital expenditures, including the acceleration of investments to grow and enhance our eCommerce channel and omni-channel assets, the repayment of indebtedness, and other investments.

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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of our assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses, as well as the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Management evaluates its accounting policies, estimates, and judgments on an on-going basis. Management bases its estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions and conditions.

Management evaluated the development and selection of its critical accounting policies and estimates and believes that the following policies involve a higher degree of judgment or complexity and are most significant to reporting our results of operations and financial position and are, therefore, discussed as critical. The following critical accounting policies reflect the significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our Consolidated Financial Statements. More information on all of our significant accounting policies can be found in Note 2 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Store Asset Impairment

Description of Policy

Store related Property and Equipment, including the right of use assets, are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets might not be recoverable. These include, but are not limited to, material adverse changes in projected revenues, present cash flow losses combined with a history of cash flow losses and a forecast that demonstrates significant continuing losses, significant negative economic conditions, a significant decrease in the market value of an asset and store closure or relocation decisions. We review for indicators of impairment at the individual store level, the lowest level for which cash flows are identifiable.

Stores that display an indicator of impairment are subjected to an impairment assessment. Our impairment assessment requires management to make assumptions and judgments related, but not limited, to management’s expectations for future operations and projected cash flows.

•The key assumption used in our undiscounted future store cash flow models is the sales growth rate.

An impairment loss may be recognized when these undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset group. In the circumstance of impairment, any loss would be measured as the excess of the carrying amount of the asset group over its fair value. Fair value of our store-related assets is determined at the individual store level based on the highest and best use of the asset group.

•The key assumptions used in our fair value analysis may include discounted estimates of future store cash flows from operating the store and/or comparable market rents.

Judgments and Uncertainties

Our analysis for impairment requires judgment surrounding identification of appropriate triggering events and assumptions used in our fair value model. These judgments can be affected by factors such as expectations for future store performance, real estate demand, market rent and economic conditions that can be difficult to predict.

Effect if Actual Results Differ from Assumptions

We have no reason to believe that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use in this evaluation. However, if we become aware of additional triggering events there is potential that additional stores could be required to be tested for impairment and could be impaired. These events could include further deterioration in store operating results, increased store labor costs, our inability to implement our cost savings initiatives or lower mall traffic. In addition, if market rent fair values deteriorate, our fair value test could determine additional right of use asset impairment. A 1% reduction in our store related assets would be approximately $6.0 million at January 29, 2022.

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Inventories - Lower of Cost or Net Realizable Value

Description of Policy

Inventories are principally valued at the lower of cost or net realizable value on a weighted-average cost basis. We record a lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment for our inventories if the cost of specific inventory items on hand exceeds the amount we expect to realize from the ultimate sale or disposal of the inventory.

Judgments and Uncertainties

Our accounting methodology for determining the lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment contains uncertainties because it requires management to make assumptions and estimates that are based on factors such as merchandise seasonality, historical trends, and estimated inventory levels, including sell-through of remaining units.

Effect if Actual Results Differ from Assumptions

We have no reason to believe that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to measure the lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment. However, if actual results are not consistent with our estimates or assumptions, we may be exposed to losses or gains that could be material. A 100 basis point increase or decrease in the lower of cost or net realizable value adjustment would not have had a material impact on the inventory balance or pre-tax income as of and for the year ended January 29, 2022.

Valuation Allowance on Deferred Tax Assets

Description of Policy

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences of temporary differences that currently exist between the tax basis and the financial reporting basis of our assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established against deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that the realization of those deferred tax assets will not occur.

Judgments and Uncertainties

Our deferred tax asset and liability balances contain uncertainty because changes in tax laws, rates, or future taxable income may differ from estimates and judgments made by management. Assessing whether deferred tax assets are realizable requires significant judgment. We consider all available positive and negative evidence, including past operating results and expectations of future operating income. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is often dependent upon future profitability, which is inherently uncertain. While we have a full valuation allowance on our net deferred tax asset assets, future changes in assumptions could have an effect on our estimates.

Effect if Actual Results Differ from Assumptions

We have no reason to believe that there will be a material change in the future estimates or assumptions we use to calculate our deferred taxes. However, if future tax rates are changed, or if actual results are not consistent with our estimates, we may need to adjust the carrying value of our deferred tax balances. An increase or decrease in the valuation allowance would result in a respective increase or decrease in our effective tax rate in the period the increase or decrease occurs.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

INTEREST RATE RISK

Our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility bear interest at variable rates. See Note 6 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information on the calculation of the rates. The nature and amount of our long-term debt can be expected to vary as a result of future business requirements, market conditions, and other factors.

As of January 29, 2022, we had approximately $35.0 million in borrowings outstanding under our Amended Revolving Credit Facility and approximately $96.7 million in borrowings outstanding under our Term Loan Facility. Based on the levels of borrowings under our credit facilities at January 29, 2022, we estimate that a 100 basis point increase or decrease in underlying interest rates would increase or decrease annual interest expense by approximately $1.3 million. This hypothetical analysis may differ from the actual change in interest expense due to potential changes in interest rates or gross borrowings outstanding under our credit facilities. The expected transition from the widespread use of LIBOR rate to alternative rates over the next several years is not expected to have a material impact on interest expense on borrowings outstanding under our credit facilities.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 41

IMPACT OF INFLATION

Inflationary factors such as increases in the cost of our products and operations may adversely affect our operating results. Although we do not believe that inflation has had a material impact on our financial position or results of operations to date, a high rate of inflation in the future may have an adverse effect on our ability to maintain current levels of gross profit and selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of net sales if the selling prices of our products do not rise with these increased costs.

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ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

	Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 238)	44
Consolidated Balance Sheets	47
Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income	48
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders' Equity	49
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows	50
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements	51

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 43

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Express, Inc.

Opinions on the Financial Statements and Internal Control over Financial Reporting

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Express, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, and the related consolidated statements of income and comprehensive income, of changes in stockholders’ equity and of cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 29, 2022, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). We also have audited the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 29, 2022 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 29, 2022, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the COSO.

Change in Accounting Principle

As discussed in Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for leases in 2019.

Basis for Opinions

The Company's management is responsible for these consolidated financial statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud, and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.

Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 44

accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Critical Audit Matters

The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.

Store Asset Impairment Assessments

As described in Notes 2 and 3 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has long-lived assets which include consolidated property and equipment, net of $148 million and consolidated right of use assets, net of $615 million as of January 29, 2022, of which a significant portion of such balances relate to store level long-lived assets. As disclosed by management, store related property and equipment and right of use assets are tested for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets might not be recoverable. Management reviews for indicators of impairment at the individual store level, the lowest level for which cash flows are identifiable. Stores that display an indicator of impairment are subjected to an impairment assessment. The impairment assessment requires management to make assumptions and judgments related, but not limited, to management’s expectations for future operations and projected cash flows. The key assumption used in undiscounted future store cash flow models is the sales growth rate. An impairment loss may be recognized when these undiscounted future cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset group. In the circumstance of impairment, any loss would be measured as the excess of the carrying amount of the asset group over its fair value. Fair value of the store-related assets is determined at the individual store level based on the highest and best use of the asset group. The key assumptions used in the fair value analysis may include discounted estimates of future store cash flows from operating the store and/or comparable market rents.

The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the store asset impairment assessments is a critical audit matter are the high degree of auditor subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and evaluating management’s significant assumptions related to the sales growth rate when developing the undiscounted future cash flows, and comparable market rents when estimating the fair value. In addition, the audit effort involved the use of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge.

Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to the store asset impairment assessments, including controls over the assumptions used when developing the undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the assets to test for recoverability and when estimating the fair value of the asset groups to measure for impairment. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for developing the undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the assets and estimating the fair value of the asset groups; (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the models used by management; (iii) testing the completeness, accuracy and relevance of underlying data used in the models; and (iv) evaluating the reasonableness of the significant assumptions related to the sales growth rate when developing the undiscounted future cash flows, and comparable market rents when estimating the fair value. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to the sales growth rate and comparable market rents involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering the current and past performance of the asset groups and the consistency with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit as it relates to the sales growth rate and consistency with external market data as it relates to the sales growth rate and

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 45

comparable market rents. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in the evaluation of the reasonableness of the comparable market rents significant assumption.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Columbus, Ohio

March 24, 2022

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2008.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 46

EXPRESS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Amounts in Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)

	January 29, 2022		January 30, 2021
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	41,176	$	55,874
Receivables, net	11,744		14,556
Income tax receivable	53,665		111,342
Inventories	358,795		264,360
Prepaid rent	5,602		7,883
Other	19,755		20,495
Total current assets	490,737		474,510
Right of Use Asset, Net	615,462		797,785
Property and Equipment	975,802		969,402
Less: accumulated depreciation	(827,820)		(789,204)
Property and equipment, net	147,982		180,198
Other Assets	5,273		5,964
TOTAL ASSETS	$	1,259,454	$	1,458,457
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Short-term lease liability	$	196,628	$	203,441
Accounts payable	231,974		150,230
Deferred revenue	35,985		32,430
Short-term debt	11,216		—
Accrued expenses	110,850		128,952
Total current liabilities	586,653		515,053
Long-Term Lease Liability	536,905		722,949
Long-Term Debt	117,581		192,032
Other Long-Term Liabilities	17,007		18,734
Total Liabilities	1,258,146		1,448,768
Commitments and Contingencies (Note 11)
Stockholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock – $0.01 par value; 10,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding	—		—
Common stock – $0.01 par value; 500,000 shares authorized; 93,632 shares and 93,632 shares issued at January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, respectively, and 67,072 shares and 64,971 shares outstanding at January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, respectively	936		936
Additional paid-in capital	220,078		222,141
Retained earnings	77,093		114,732
Treasury stock – at average cost; 26,560 shares and 28,661 shares at January 29, 2022 and January 30, 2021, respectively	(296,799)		(328,120)
Total stockholders’ equity	1,308		9,689
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	$	1,259,454	$	1,458,457

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 47

EXPRESS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Amounts in Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)

	2021		2020		2019
Net Sales	$	1,870,296	$	1,208,374	$	2,019,194
Cost of Goods Sold, Buying and Occupancy Costs	1,311,829		1,213,281		1,468,619
GROSS PROFIT/(LOSS)	558,467		(4,907)		550,575
Operating Expenses:
Selling, general, and administrative expenses	558,187		450,834		564,332
Impairment of intangible assets	—		—		197,618
Restructuring costs	—		—		7,337
Other operating income, net	(499)		(526)		(847)
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES	557,688		450,308		768,440
OPERATING INCOME/(LOSS)	779		(455,215)		(217,865)
Interest Expense/(Income), Net	15,198		3,401		(2,981)
Other (Income)/Expense, Net	(298)		2,733		—
LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES	(14,121)		(461,349)		(214,884)
Income Tax Expense/(Benefit)	315		(55,900)		(50,526)
NET LOSS	$	(14,436)	$	(405,449)	$	(164,358)
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS	$	(14,436)	$	(405,449)	$	(164,358)
EARNINGS PER SHARE:
Basic	$	(0.22)	$	(6.27)	$	(2.49)
Diluted	$	(0.22)	$	(6.27)	$	(2.49)
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Basic	66,448		64,624		66,133
Diluted	66,448		64,624		66,133

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 48

EXPRESS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

(Amounts in Thousands)

 

	Common Stock									Treasury Stock
	Shares Outstanding	Par Value		Additional Paid-in Capital		Retained Earnings		Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss		Shares	At Average Cost		Total
BALANCE, February 2, 2019	67,424	$	936	$	211,981	$	713,864	$	—	26,208	$	(341,603)	$	585,178
Adoption of ASC Topic 842	—	—		—		(5,482)		—		—	—		(5,482)
Net loss	—	—		—		(164,358)		—		—	—		(164,358)
Exercise of stock options and restricted stock	1,204	—		(4,951)		(10,334)		—		(1,204)	15,285		—
Share-based compensation	—	—		8,177		—		—		—	—		8,177
Repurchase of common stock	(4,706)	—		—		—		—		4,706	(17,213)		(17,213)
BALANCE, February 1, 2020	63,922	$	936	$	215,207	$	533,690	$	—	29,710	$	(343,531)	$	406,302
Net loss	—	—		—		(405,449)		—		—	—		(405,449)
Exercise of stock options and restricted stock	1,392	—		(2,528)		(13,509)		—		(1,392)	16,037		—
Share-based compensation	—	—		9,462		—		—		—	—		9,462
Repurchase of common stock	(343)	—		—		—		—		343	(626)		(626)
BALANCE, January 30, 2021	64,971	$	936	$	222,141	$	114,732	$	—	28,661	$	(328,120)	$	9,689
Net loss	—	—		—		(14,436)		—		—	—		(14,436)
Exercise of stock options and restricted stock	3,084	—		(11,872)		(23,203)		—		(3,084)	35,075		—
Share-based compensation	—	—		9,809		—		—		—	—		9,809
Repurchase of common stock	(983)	—		—		—		—		983	(3,754)		(3,754)
BALANCE, January 29, 2022	67,072	$	936	$	220,078	$	77,093	$	—	26,560	$	(296,799)	$	1,308

See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

EXPRESS, INC. | 2021 Form 10-K | 49

EXPRESS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Amounts in Thousands)

	2021		2020		2019
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net loss	$	(14,436)	$	(405,449)	$	(164,358)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	67,622		73,698		85,383
Loss on disposal of property and equipment	140		901		916
Impairment of property, equipment, and lease assets	—		34,380		4,430
Impairment of intangible assets	—		—