Express will focus more resources on growing its online business. Online sales were up 5.2% in 2016 and accounted for 18.8% of the retailer’s total sales.

Apparel retailer Express Inc. is pulling out of Canada in part to focus more on growing its online business.

Express, No. 102 in the just-released 2017 Internet Retailer U.S. Top 1000, is closing all 17 of its Canadian store locations, representing 2.6% of its total store count. Express’s round of store closures is an industry trend, as retailers have announced nearly 3,000 store closings this year, Bloomberg reported last month.

In announcing the move, Express reported that its Canadian division accounted for $34 million in sales in fiscal 2016, which ended on Jan. 30, or 1.6% of its overall sales of $2.193 billion.

“Our overriding focus remains to invest in and direct our resources toward those areas that can generate the greatest return, including growing our e-commerce business, relaunching our customer loyalty program, and continuing to build our omnichannel capabilities to allow our customers to engage with our brand and shop wherever, whenever, and however they want,” CEO David Kornberg said. “The decision to exit Canada is consistent with our long-term strategy and will have no impact on our operations in the U.S., which remain in a solid financial position.”

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Express did $413.4 million in online sales in 2016, up 5.2% from $392.7 million in 2015. Online accounted for 18.8% of overall sales in 2016, compared with 16.7% in 2015.

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