Express 2014 Annual Report Download - page 14

inventory management, design, planning and allocation, and financial reporting. During 2014, we completed the
upgrade of our human resources information system and continued to invest in a new retail management system
to provide additional capabilities to support our four growth pillars. Looking ahead, we anticipate continued
capital expenditures for upgrades to our retail management and enterprise planning systems to further support our
four growth pillars and additional investments to evolve into an omni-channel retailer with a seamless customer
experience.
Intellectual Property
The Express trademark and certain variations thereon, such as Express World Brand, are registered or are subject
to pending trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and/or with the registries
of many foreign countries. In addition, we own domain names for many of our trademarks, including
express.com. We believe our material trademarks have significant value, and we vigorously protect them against
infringement.
Regulation and Legislation
We are subject to labor and employment laws and regulations, including minimum wage requirements,
intellectual property laws, consumer protection laws and regulations, including those governing advertising and
promotions, privacy, and product safety, and regulations with respect to the operation of our stores. In addition,
we are subject to United States customs laws and similar laws of other countries associated with the import and
export of merchandise.
Employees
We currently employ approximately 18,000 employees. Approximately 800 employees are based at our home
office locations in either Columbus or New York City, approximately 70 are field-based regional managers,
approximately 1,700 are in-store managers or co-managers, and approximately 15,000 are in-store sales
associates. None of our employees are represented by a union, and we have had no labor-related work stoppages.
We believe our relations with our employees are good.
Seasonality
Our business is seasonal. We define our seasons as Spring (first and second quarters) and Fall (third and fourth
quarters). Historically, we have realized a higher portion of our net sales and net income in the Fall season due
primarily to early Fall selling patterns as well as the impact of the holiday season. In 2014, approximately 56% of
our net sales were generated in the Fall season, while approximately 44% were generated in the Spring season.
Cash needs are typically higher in the third quarter due to inventory-related working capital requirements for
early Fall and holiday selling periods. Our business is also subject, at certain times, to calendar shifts, which may
occur during key selling periods close to holidays such as Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, and regional
fluctuations for events such as sales tax holidays.
Available Information
We make available, free of charge, on our website, www.express.com, copies of our Annual Reports on
Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to these reports
filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act of 1934”), as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically with, or
otherwise furnishing it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains electronic filings at www.sec.gov.
In addition, the public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference
Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the
Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-732-0330. The reference to our website address does not
constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the website, and such information is not
part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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