STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

UBS Global Consumer Conference March 2012

STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Forward Looking Statements Certain statements in this presentation are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact and may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Expresss growth opportunities, strategy, and future plans, including plans for new stores, loyalty program, international expansion and new and expanding categories. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are (1) changes in consumer spending and general economic conditions; (2) our ability to identify and respond to new and changing fashion trends, customer preferences and other related factors; (3) fluctuations in our sales and results of operations on a seasonal basis and due to store events, promotions and a variety of other factors; (4) increased competition from other retailers; (5) our dependence upon independent third parties to manufacture all of our merchandise; (6) our growth strategy, including our international expansion plan; (7) our dependence on a strong brand image; (8) our dependence upon key executive management; (9) our reliance on third parties to provide us with certain key services for our business; and (10) our substantial indebtedness and lease obligations. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in Express, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 29, 2011. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Non-GAAP Financial Measures This presentation contains Non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted EBITDA should be considered supplemental to and not a substitute for financial information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) included in Express, Inc.s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and may differ from similarly titled measures used by others. Please refer to slide 28 for additional information and a reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

SINCE 2007
STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

We have significantly changed the Express business model

Assembled a strong leadership team Elevated our brand positioning Implemented our Go-to-Market Strategy Identified and executed four robust growth pillars

Which has dramatically changed the financial architecture of the business

Rigorous testing process
Adjusted EBITDA*
$363 $309

Data based decision making

Consistent improvement in results
$177 $137 $86 $230

2006 *Reconciliation provided on page 28

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

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Who We Are
FY 2011 Sales Breakdown

Launched in 1980 as a division of Limited Brands Over 30 years of brand history as a fashion authority for 20-30 year old shoppers Transitioned to a standalone company in 2007 One of the largest specialty retail apparel brands with over $2.0 billion in sales Distinctive point of view sexy, sophisticated, social Committed to style and quality at an attractive value
Mens Apparel & Accessories 36% & M en' Appar s el
Accessores, i 35%

Womens Apparel & W om en' s Accessories 64% Appar & el Accessores, i 65%

2011 Financial Highlights

Sales Adjusted EBITDA % Margin Stores

$2.1 Billion $363 Million 17.5% 609

Attractive Market and Customer Demographic

STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

Specialty Apparel Market is Large

$192B $192B $43B
Other 31+ Dept Store Mass Women 18-30 Specialty <18
By Gender By Age By Channel

Fast growing segment of the population

Men

High discretionary spend we believe greater than the average female specialty retail shopper

And Growing
Projected Population Growth by Age Range, 2010-2015 Specialty Retailer Market Share 2000-2010
27.6%
5%

28.2%

Specialty channel continues to increase market share

(3%)

23.5%
(3%)

15-19 Year Olds

Source: NPD (January 2011); S&P industry reports; BEA, US Census; Wall Street Research.

20-34 Year Olds

35-49 Year Olds

2000

2005

2010

STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

The Fashion Authority for 20-30 Yr Old Shoppers

Casual Jeanswear Going Out

Work

Teens

20-30s

Late 20s/ +30s

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How We Do It

Narrow End Point = Broad Appeal

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Express Girl Young. Smart. Bold. Spirited. Flirty. Social.

23 years old Loves shopping Reads Vogue, Cosmo, Glamour, InStyle Loves music and dancing In-the-know about celebrity news and fashion

Express Guy Confident. Driven. Charming. Stylish. Active. Cool.

27 years old Embraces life, loves the social scene Reads Maxim, Details, GQ, Rolling Stone Tech-savvy and up on cultural trends Loves hanging out with his friends

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Sophisticated Design, Merchandising and Sourcing Model

% Product Tested
~75%

Disciplined and data-driven approach to design and merchandising

Design and Merchandising

Go-to-Market strategy tests ~75% of product before ordering

20%

Customer driven product selection

Pre-2007 Now

Nimble / Diversified supply chain Moving production to lower cost geographies

Gross Margin
35.6%
31.7% 25.3% 26.3% 36.4%

Sourcing and Production

Taking advantage of countries with Duty Free status

Optimizing Air/Ocean mix

FY2007

FY2008

FY2009

FY2010

FY2011

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Growth Opportunities

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Focused Growth Strategies

Productivity Growth
Sales per Gross Sq. Ft. $355 $282

Increasing sales productivity and operating margin

Existing Stores

Marketing our brand, regaining historical sales levels across all categories and adding complementary assortments (shoes, fragrance, watches)
Operating Margin:

FY2006
~1%

FY2011
~13%

ECommerce Currently at 10% of total sales

Launched July 2008, have experienced rapid growth

% of Sales

e-commerce Growth
10% 8% 5%

Potential growth to 13-15% of sales Untapped potential in both U.S. and Canada (minimal new stores in past 10 years)
Opened 27 new stores in U.S. + Canada in 2011 Planning approximately 30 new stores in 2012

New Stores

FY2009

FY2010

FY2011

Store Growth
Number of Stores ~695 576 591 609

Significant international expansion opportunity

International Expansion

Planning additional new stores in 2012 through partnership with Alshaya Selectively exploring opportunities in Latin America, Asia and Europe
At IPO FY2010 FY2011 FY2014E

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Growth Initiatives
Industry Sales / GSF
$611

Improve existing store productivity and expand margins

Continued margin expansion as we leverage improved productivity Regain historical sales volume in existing categories Introduction of new categories to drive add-on sales No structural reason for lower store productivity
$535

(1)

$497

$494

$468 $413 $328 $355

Abercrombie & Fitch

Aeropostale

Banana Republic

American Eagle

Bebe

Gap

NY&Co

Industry EBITDA Margins (2)

Go-to-Market strategy has increased relevance of in-store offering Expanding brand awareness by launching high impact marketing initiatives

18% 13% 12%

18%

American Eagle

Guess

Gap

(1) (2)

Bebe and NY & Co. as of latest reported LTM. Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, American Eagle, Gap, Express as of FY2011. Guess as of latest reported LTM. Gap, American Eagle, and Express, as of FY2011. EBITDA adjusted for non-recurring and one-time items.

Express

Rolling out new loyalty program, Express NEXT, in Spring 2012

Express

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Grow e-commerce Platform

Performance Relative to Peers
% Total Sales

Launched Express.com in July 2008; launched mobile application in Q310 and Facebook store in Q211

2011 growth of ~39% to 10% of total sales

Management expects to see channel growth up to 13-15% of sales, in-line with peers Core customer is an active online shopper Mobile commerce playing larger role in 20-30 year-old demographic Recently hired a new SVP of e-commerce
10%

20%

13% 12% 11%

URBN

AEO

ANF

GPS

FY 2011

Peers (FY 2011)

Source: Public filings. (1) Across all brands (e.g., Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic for Gap); Gap numbers are US only.

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Expand Our Store Base

New Store Potential
# of Stores
~695 ~695

Minimal new store openings between 20002009 as a result of dual-gender conversion process Identified ~250 additional potential new store locations ~150 malls and lifestyle centers in U.S. ~100 top malls in Canada Plan to open 30 to 40 stores per year over the next several years 3 to 4% average square footage growth

~660 ~660 ~630 ~630 609 609 591 591 23 23 (5) (5) 630 630 609 609 591 591 573 573 27 27 (9) (9) ~30 ~30 (9) (9) ~35 ~35 (5) (5)

~40 ~40 (5)

(5)

660 660

~2/3 in U.S.
~1/3 in Canada (Opened six Canada stores in 2011)

2010 2010
Net Sq Ft Growth: 3%

2011 2011E
3%

2012E 2012E
4%

2013E 2014E 2014E 2013E

4% 4%

Existing Stores

Store Closures

New Stores

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New Store Format

New store design elevates brand while showcasing end uses in an easier-to-shop format Redesigned layout enhances product presentation and elevates overall shopping experience Provides more space to optimize growth of mens and accessory categories

Opened two stores in new format in June in King of Prussia and Kenwood Initial June testing results favorable

Plan to open all new and remodeled stores in the new format beginning in late spring 2012

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International Growth Opportunity

Global Store Potential

Team devoted to international growth opportunities Matt Moellering (COO)

Ron Young (SVP International)

Flexible store expansion options Partnerships (similar to Middle-East with Alshaya) Joint Ventures Owned Stores Ship to over 60 countries currently
Current Stores Target Areas

Extended to parts of Asia, South America and Europe as of August 2011

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Historical Financials
Adjusted EBITDA ($ in millions)
$2,073

Net Sales ($ in millions)

$1,906
$1,749 $1,796

$1,737

$1,721 $309

$363

17.5% $230 $177 $137 $86 4.9% FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 9.9% 13.3% 16.2%

7.9%

Stores:

658

609 $355 ~36%

Adj. EBITDA

Margin

SPGSF: $282 GM %: ~28%

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Positive Momentum Continues in 2011

2011 Results Comparison
$2,073 10% 6%

Strong top-line momentum continued in 2011 with sales up 9% Comparable sales up 6% following a 10% increase in fiscal year 2010 Gross margin expansion of 80 bps in 2011 (vs. 2010) driven by our evolving go-to-market strategy Operating income up 36% to $271 million or 13.1% of net sales in 2011 compared to 2010 Paid down $169 million of debt in fiscal 2011 Repurchased $49 million of bonds in Q1 and Q2 Prepaid $120 million term loan on December 6th
$137 $1,906

FY2010

FY2011

FY2010

FY2011

Net Sales

Comparable Sales

Adjusted EBITDA
$363 $309 $230

FY2008 Margin: 7.9%

FY2009 13.3%

FY2010 16.2%

FY2011 17.5%

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STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

Why Invest in Express?

Iconic lifestyle brand targeting an attractive customer demographic Advantageous go-to-market strategy driving consistent performance Significant opportunities to grow sales and margins Proven and experienced management team

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STYLE AT THE SPEED OF LIFE

($ in millions)
Year Ended February 3, 2007

EBITDA Reconciliation
February 4, 2007 through July 6, 2007 July 7, 2007 through February 2, 2008 Year Ended January 31, 2009 Year Ended January 30, 2010 Year Ended January 29, 2011 Year Ended January 28, 2012

Net income (loss) Depreciation & amortization Interest expense (net) Provision for income taxes EBITDA Non-cash deductions, losses and charges Non-recurring expenses Transaction expenses Permitted advisory agreement fees & expenses Non-cash expense related to equity incentives Foreign exchange (gains)/losses recorded in other income Other adjustments Adjusted EBITDA

$17.5 61.9 6.5 $85.9 $85.9

$29.9 25.1 7.2 $62.2 $62.2

($40.4) 48.2 1.8 0.5 $10.1 9.8 86.9 0.8 3.9 1.2 2.7 $115.3

($29.0) 79.1 33.2 0.2 $83.5 21.1 18.7 3.6 4.2 2.1 4.0 $137.2

$75.3 69.7 52.7 1.2 $198.9 12.1 5.9 1.7 7.2 2.1 1.9 $229.8

$127.4 65.1 59.5 14.4 $266.3 14.6 2.1 2.6 12.8 5.3 5.7 $309.3

$140.7 65.3 35.8 94.9 $336.7 14.0 10.1 (0.4) 3.0 $363.4

Adjusted EBITDA is a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP. EBITDA is defined as consolidated net income (loss) before depreciation and amortization, interest expense (net) and amortization of debt issuance costs and discounts and provision for income taxes. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated in accordance with our existing credit agreements, and is defined as EBITDA adjusted to exclude the items set forth in the table. Adjusted EBITDA is a measure by which our lenders evaluate our covenant compliance. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our financial performance or liquidity under GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to net income as a measure of operating performance, cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for managements discretionary use, as they do not consider certain cash requirements such as interest payments, tax payments and debt service requirements. Adjusted EBITDA contains certain other limitations, including the failure to reflect our cash expenditures, cash requirements for working capital needs and cash costs to replace assets being depreciated and amortized, and exclude certain non-recurring charges that may recur in the future. Management compensates for these limitations by relying primarily on our GAAP results and by using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. We strongly encourage investors and stockholders to review our financial statements and publicly filed reports within the SEC in their entirety and not rely on any single financial measure.

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UBS Global Consumer Conference March 2012