Former Tyson Foods executive Stewart Glendinning will be the new CEO of clothing company Express, replacing Timothy Baxter, effective September 15, the company announced.
“The Express Board is confident that (Glendinning) is the right person to reinvigorate performance and build the strongest possible foundation on which Express can succeed,” Mylle Mangum, chairperson of the Express Board, said Thursday in a statement. “He is a highly accomplished executive who will bring fresh thinking to the Company and our strategies for profitable growth. Stewart shares the Board’s belief that further operating improvements and greater financial discipline are needed to ensure that Express is best positioned to deliver significant, sustainable shareholder value.”
Glendinning is expected to bring his financial operational expertise to an apparel and accessories brand that has faced financial struggles in 2023. In March, the company was notified by the New York Stock Exchange it was in danger of being delisted because it did not satisfy the rule requiring “listed companies to maintain an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period,” Express said in a news release at the time.
“Express has an outstanding portfolio of brands, a high-potential partnership with (management firm WHP Global) and a premier omnichannel platform,” Glendinning said in a statement. “Through a keen focus on execution and cost discipline, I am confident that we can better capitalize on these differentiators, increase the Company’s financial strength and create shareholder value.”
While Express (EXPR) has maintained its spot on the NYSE this year and acquired e-commerce menswear retailer Bonobos, which the company said exceeded sales expectations, it has also faced subpar operating results in the first two quarters of this year.
Baxter’s resignation was announced one day after Express released its second-quarter results, with net sales of its Express brand and its lifestyle line UpWest decreasing 15% compared to last year. The company’s sales in retail stores were down 21%, and its e-commerce sales were down 1%, Express reported a net loss of $44.1 million, compared to a net income of $7 million in 2022.
“Much of this decline is because Express is the archetypal middle-market mass retailer that consumers are increasingly willing to either cut out of the portfolio of stores they visit, or buy less from, as they look to save money,” retail analyst Neil Saunders told CNN. “There isn’t anywhere near enough excitement and oomph to carry the retailer through a period of challenge in the consumer economy. Express is also guilty of some merchandise errors, especially in womenswear, where it has failed to jump on interesting trends.”
In an earnings call the day before the shake-up was announced, Baxter acknowledged there was room for improvement in categories such as denim and dresses, and emphasized the company’s performance in women’s clothing is encouraging.
Express affirmed Baxter’s departure was not related to the company’s financial position. Baxter, who spent more than 11 years with Macy’s, joined Express in June 2019.
Executives from a number of retailers have stepped down throughout the past year amid lukewarm revenue numbers, including Kohl’s, Footlocker and VF Corporation, which owns Vans, the North Face, and JanSport.
