E-commerce sales roll ahead by 21% for Express in Q3

An increase in online sales was a bright spot for Express Inc., but its overall sales and profit decreased in the third quarter.

For the quarter ended Oct. 27, Express, No. 102 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 guide, reported:

• Web sales increased 20.6% to $55.1 million from $45.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Total sales decreased about 3.8% to $468.5 million from $486.8 million.
• Comparable-store sales decreased 5%.
• Net income decreased 46.8% to $17.4 million from $32.7 million in the third quarter of 2011.

E-commerce sales accounted for 11.8% of total sales compared with 9.4% in the third quarter of 2011.

“The third quarter was a very challenging one for our company,” says Michael Weiss, chairman and CEO. Disappointed with the results, Weiss says after identifying some issues Express reevaluated its sweater assortment, introduced lower-priced products in some categories, and began sending clearer price and promotional messages to shoppers. “We believe that these actions will position us well for the future,” he says.

For the first three quarters:

• Web sales increased 23.7% to $150.1 million from $121.3 million in the first three quarters of 2011.
• Total sales grew 1.4% to $1.42 billion from $1.40 billion.
• Comparable-store sales were unchanged.
• Net income decreased year over year 6.2% to $75.3 million from $80.3 million.

E-commerce sales accounted for 10.6% of total sales compared with 8.7% in the first three quarters of 2011.