Columbus, Ohio-headquartered  Express, Inc., a fashion clothing company that operates retail, outlet, e-commerce, and mobile shopping channels, opened its technology department operations in Ultrapark Trade Zone in Heredia Province.

According to the firm, they established an operation center dedicated to software development, quality assurance, and database management. 

Company operations on Costa Rican soil will form an extension of the technology team that works in the United States. Together, they will provide support to all regions and countries where Express does business. 

“We conducted a thorough study to help us decide where to set up our expanded technology team and found that Costa Rica had the right combination of high-quality talent, a collaborative culture and easy travel to our headquarters in Columbus, Ohio,” Greg Fancher, Chief Technology Officer of Express, Inc. said.

Express plans to continue to grow and hire additional employees in Costa Rica, including Developers, Data Engineers, Database Administrators, and other technology professionals. 

This team will develop iOS and Android mobile applications, perform QA (quality assurance) work, and provide general support through technology department solutions. Those interested in applying for a job vacancy should visit the company's Careers site.

The company operates over 550 retail and outlet stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, the express.com online store and the Express mobile app. Express, Inc. comprises the brands Express and UpWest and is traded on the NYSE under the symbol EXPR.

According to the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency, CINDE, the digital technologies sector is the country’s second-largest job-creating services sector, with close to 28,000 jobs, while Costa Rica leads the region in exports of these services by about $243 million per million inhabitants.

Express is one of many international companies investing in Costa Rica. Last week, the China-headquartered ride-hailing company DiDi, announced the expansion of its operations in the country.

 

Even though new businesses are creating jobs in Costa Rica, the unemployment rate is 12%, according to the National Employment Survey. The survey reveals that, from March to May, there are approximately more than 293,000 people without registered jobs. Of these 162,000 are women, making up 55% of unemployed people in the country.

 

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