Sales at outlets, online help Express in fourth quarter

Outlet stores and online sales gave Express a boost in the fourth quarter, leading to sales and earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.

The Columbus-based specialty-fashion retailer reported quarterly sales of $693.8 million, up from $678.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Wall Street analysts had expected sales of $680.7 million.

Express reported net income of $29.4 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $22.8 million, or 29 cents per share. Analysts had predicted quarterly earnings of 32 cents per share.

Comparable-stores sales, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, fell 1 percent during the quarter, but e-commerce sales increased 17 percent to $203 million; the company surpassed $500 million in online sales in a year for the first time.

In the full fiscal year, sales decreased to $2.1 billion from $2.2 billion the previous year. Net income dropped to $19.4 million, or 25 cents per share, from $57.4 million, or 73 cents per share.

“While our overall 2017 full-year results were below plan, our performance showed improvement over the course of the year, as our key initiatives gained traction,” said David Kornberg, president and CEO. “We were particularly pleased with the performance of our e-commerce business, which continues its significant growth.”

Express now has ship-fromstore capabilities in 200 stores and is launching a buy-online, pick-up-in-store capability.

Express also enjoyed significant success in its outlet stores, Kornberg said. The retailer has converted some full-price locations to lower-price outlet stores and opened other outlet locations. By the end of 2018, Express expects to have 454 full-price stores, down from 490 at the end of 2017. The retailer expects to have 183 outlet stores by the end of 2018, up from 145 at the end of 2017.

How many more outlets will Express open? Kornberg wasn’t sure.

“We’re looking at it opportunistically, based on conversions we’ve done to date,” he said. “It’s very difficult to give an exact number.”