Express failed to disclose nearly $1 million in executive perks to the clothing retailer’s former CEO, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday in saying it had settled charges against the company, which went bankrupt earlier this year.
The agency did not identify the former chief executive by name, but said it involved proxy statements for fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021, a period when Tim Baxter was CEO. The Macy’s veteran joined Express in June 2019 and departed less than four years later.
“Express failed to disclose $979,269 worth of perks and personal benefits provided to its CEO, including certain expenses associated with the CEO’s authorized use of chartered aircraft for personal purposes,” the SEC stated.
As a result, the company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April, understated its CEO’s compensation by 94% over three fiscal years, according to the agency.
Public companies have a duty to comply with disclosure obligations so “investors can make educated investment decisions,” Sanjay Wadhwa, acting director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, stated. Still, the commission did not impose a civil penalty due to the company’s self-reporting, cooperation and remedial efforts, Wadhwa noted.
Express in September 2023 appointed former Tyson Foods executive Stewart Glendinning to replace Baxter, calling his resignation “unrelated to the company’s accounting or financial reporting, and the company affirms its guidance previously announced,” the company said at the time.
A group led by brand acquisition and management firm WHP Global now runs Express and Bonobos after purchasing its operating assets, including 450 stores, in late June.
WHP Global did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
