National chain closing another Kansas City store. Country Club Plaza exodus continues
In April, shortly after filing for bankruptcy, the fashion retailer Express Inc. announced it would be closing its Zona Rosa location, one of about 100 nationwide it planned to shutter as part of its reorganization.
Now, the closing of another Kansas City Express is underway. The final day at 429 Nichols Road on the Country Club Plaza will be July 28, an employee confirmed Wednesday.
Till then, everything in the store is discounted between 20% and 50%. The store’s fixtures — racks, shelves, mannequins — are also for sale.
Employees at the two remaining metro area stores, in the Legends Outlets Kansas City and Oak Park Mall, said those locations remain open, with no closing sales planned at this time. Sales at the Zona Rosa location are still running.
Founded in 1980, Express has struggled in recent years to compete with fast-fashion upstarts like Zara and adapt to the post-pandemic shift away from office wear to more casual attire. The mall-era stalwart has said it plans to sell to a new ownership group that includes WHP Global, Brookfield Properties and Simon Property Group.
Other 2024 Plaza closings include the gift shop Hallmark Gold Crown, the Brazilian sweets shop Sweet Kiss Brigadeiro, the outdoors store Moosejaw, and clothing retailers Soft Surroundings and Forever 21.
HP Village Partners, a Dallas company with family ties to H.L. Hunt, the father of Kansas City Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, is reportedly under contract to purchase the Country Club Plaza from Macerich Co. and Taubman Centers, the current owners who last year defaulted on a $295 million loan, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. But the deal has yet to close.
