After decades, Express at Fresno’s Fashion Fair Mall closing

A Fashion Fair Mall location will be one of 95 closures for clothing retailer Express.

Parent company WHP Global, LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday and will be closing about 1 in 5 Express stores nationwide.

WHP Global is also the parent company of apparel chains UpWest and Bonobos.

The Fresno store is one of 95 stores nationwide to be shuttered, according to a bankruptcy court filing. The company will also close all 10 of its UpWest stores.

Express, which sells men’s and women’s clothing, has been a familiar sight in shopping malls since 1980. It began in Chicago as a women’s clothing store before expanding into shopping malls across the country.

Express has been a long-time fixture of Fashion Fair, according to a search of city inspection records, dating back to 1998 at the address 683 E. Shaw Ave.

There is an Express Factory Outlet location at the Tulare Outlets not impacted by the closures.

Express has received a bid to be acquired by a consortium that includes mall operators, reported NPR .

Bonobos, which operates 68 stores, has not announced any store closures. Bonobos has 11 California stores located primarily in the Bay Area and Southern California.