Hell yea! Keep ‘em coming. Fuck the naysayers who claim everyone is running from Philly.

Keep what coming? Mall level discount stores opening in a premium retail corridor (in actual Rittenhouse)? A Vitamin Shoppe and Cricket Wireless are coming in next, do rejoice /s

Retail, baby. I never though of Express Edit as being a “discount mall store” but keep on gatekeeping, I guess. Or are you just mad that businesses aren’t fleeing like some of you predicting 😂

KEEP THEM COMING!

Edit: I guess people actually don’t want more retail coming to Walnut? Y’all are confusing 🙄

That's not at all the case here, Express Edits seem to be only opening in high-end shopping areas right now: https://www.retaildive.com/news/6-express-edit-stores-open-in-90-days/631089/

"Express will open six Express Edit stores in the next 90 days, according to CEO Tim Baxter.

The stores will be located in SoHo and the Flatiron District in New York City, on Newbury Street in Boston, in Brickell and South Beach in Miami, and near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Baxter told analysts on a call on Wednesday."

It's explicitly stated that these stores are NOT intended for mall locations. Do those sound like low-end locations to you?

Oh this is the one I kept getting ads for right? Something about catering exclusively to Philadelphia, with pictures of models in front of the Brooklyn Bridge.

> I never though of Express Edit as being a “discount mall store” but keep on gatekeeping, I guess.

The subtitle in the article (if you care to/can read):

"The mall-favorite shop steps up its service while staying true to its style."

Then the last sentence:

"And yes, everything was inexplicably 40 percent off."

I guess I'll just pay attention to details.

And Express quality is mediocre at best (if you have any standards or know anything about quality, of course): I own a couple of their suits I had to get in a pinch some time ago, and it's a "nah".

I am also not mad of more storefronts to open, quite the opposite, but I am not going to take quantity over quality, for it can end up like the stretch of Chestnut between 15th and 16th.

The very subtitle in the article calls it "mall favorite", which is not a badge of honor in my book.

Admittedly I’ve never shopped at Express, but my perception was that they were not in the same category as Ross, TJ Maxx, or Marshalls, which is what I think of as a discount store.

I see your point, but again, it’s definitely in a different league than Spencers, Kricket, or TJ Maxx. It still caters to a more “upscale” clientele

It sounds like they are referring to the standard Express stores as this is a new concept, so it inherently is not a mall favorite: "Express Edit is a store concept with a paired-down product assortment and reduced square footage in off-mall locations."

Regarding your other comment, I'm not a HUGE fan of Express or anything but they have some nice clothes at times. I have a couple of their suits from a holiday sale years ago and they get the job done.

IMO this is a good addition to the area, on par with Nordstrom Rack.

Of course they don't want that. That's why the comment calling it a discount mall store is getting upvotes. Never mind the context I provided of where these stores are opening. Who knew that SoHo was full of discount stores?

Yea dude it’s honestly hilarious. It’s like people want the city to fail.

Yeah, their suits were disappointing quality, high price tag eight years ago. I doubt skimpflation and pressure from fast fashion improved that.

"Fast fashion" can fuck off to hell: garbage quality, sweatshop production, and a horrible impact on environment because of the materials and how disposable it is.

Yeah, their suits were alright in a pinch, but that's it: I only wear them to bar crawls and funerals now (now in that order, not so far anyway).

> IMO this is a good addition to the area, on par with Nordstrom Rack.

Eh, I'll allow it. Also - RIP Century 21.

Faux high fashion, and you are right about the alternatives - having Ross would sting way more. I don't hate Express, but they were always exactly that - mall level apparel to me.

Yea the world of expensive clothes is a little foreign too me so admittedly my perception might be off. Kind of glad this is the case, but I also have other expensive hobbies that drain my money anyway

After Century 21 closed, I discovered YOOX (online shop), they have regular sales on higher end stuff (and really high end stuff), there you can always find well made clothes and especially shoes (Italian leather and such) at decent prices. I wouldn't buy a suit from them, though, but shoes, tops, and leather jackets were on point.

Great tip! Super appreciate it. I do have need for high-end clothes occasionally for formal events and occasional fancy business dinners.

I hope you’re writing this on an iPhone

You are welcome.

Pro-tip: absolutely always make sure that the item is returnable (they have regular sales as well as final ones) - I got a new pair of boots recently, and it's arrived damaged (it was damaged before shipment with torn stitching and leather having permanent marks on it).

Newest-ish MacBook Pro, but close enough; how did you know?

Seriously, though: I update mine as needed, and Apple made it very clear they don't want their batteries last for more than 2-3 years - my current iPhone... 11 (?) is on its last legs due to that, so I'll have to upgrade.

Producing clothes that last 2-3 wears and are cheap enough that you can keep buying them weekly, if you wanted to, is a little different. Literal apples to oranges.

The concept of the store makes me cringe - it’s the same Express clothes but instead of your avg worker creating the window displays, it’s less merchandise curated by “experts and influencers” to make it seem trendier and more exclusive.

But we need more retail back. I absolutely hate that clothing has all gone online. Let me just walk out the door and try on a pair of pants and see for myself how they fit/look before putting down money…

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They do. A ton of people on this sub don't live here and it's sad.

Well no, if it were literal apples and oranges, we’d be talking about apples… and oranges…

The English is not even my second language, so forgive me for misusing the expression (I just saw an "apple" in there, so figured that it was literal enough).

Looks like 2007 JC Penny

So is this one now open?

If I'm right this is the store location that is across from liberty place at the corner I remember seeing it being worked on I could be wrong

yup, walked by over the weekend actually and it was open then.

It's hard to ignore that it is actively failing in many relevant categories.

I would prefer that it wasn't, but you can't ignore its been taking a nosedive since 2016.

Oof cricket wireless, if that's the case for what's opening in Rittenhouse, I expect a cash for gold store opening soon.

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I don’t disagree that there are very big issues to overcome. Still feels like the city has real momentum and that a change in leadership will be an improvement over the current situation.