US fashion retailer Express' Q1 FY21 sales rise 64% to $346 mn

Express, a US-based modern, versatile, dual gender fashion retailer, has reported 64 per cent sales growth to $345.8 million in its first quarter (Q1) of FY21 ended on May 1, 2021, compared to the sales of $210.3 million in the corresponding period of previous fiscal. The company’s net loss for the quarter reduced to $45.7 million (Q1 FY20: $154.0 million).

 

“First quarter results exceeded our expectations across all channels and drove a $130 million improvement in our operating cash flow,” Tim Baxter, chief executive officer at Express, said in a press release. “We are well positioned for the post pandemic world, we are on track to achieve our goal of $1.0 billion in e-commerce demand by 2024, and I expect that we will return to positive operating cash flow in the second quarter and positive EBITDA in the third quarter.”

 

Gross profit during Q1 FY21 was $78.8 million (gross loss: $46.2 million), while total operating expenses rose to $119.3 million ($99.1 million). The company’s operating loss for the quarter reduced to $40.5 million ($145.3 million).

 

The company’s retail sales, which includes both Express stores and e-commerce, increased 11 per cent compared to Q1 FY20.

 

“We have made significant progress against the EXPRESSway Forward strategy we launched early last year, our transformation is well underway, customer response to our product assortment and brand positioning has been very positive, and our performance has begun to reflect the strength of our strategy,” Baxter concluded.