It's been an eventful summer for Esprit in Europe. The German-based fashion brand's European operations faced serious financial difficulties and filed for bankruptcy in May of last year. At the same time, the brand's French subsidiary was placed into receivership in July. While its future in France remains unclear, the company announced in early August that the brand's European rights had been acquired by British investment group Alteri for an undisclosed sum, which will not affect the struggling business.
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Alteri specializes in European retail and owns a stake in CBR Group, the operator of German fashion brands Cecil and Street One. The fund, launched in 2014, is managed by American asset manager Apollo Global Management. The investor's goal is to relaunch the brand in the “near future.”
But the announcement of the sale of the brand rights in Europe came with bad news in Germany: The last 56 Esprit shops in the country will close by the end of the year. The company's headquarters will also be closed. According to the German news agency DPA, 1,300 people will lose their jobs.
In France, the brand is in a suspended state. Esprit de Corps France was placed into receivership by the Nanterre Commercial Court on July 18 and its future is very uncertain. The articles of incorporation list 75 French branches. The brand also operates through franchises in France, whose future is also uncertain. In Belgium and Switzerland, Esprit filed for insolvency in March and April last year and closed its own networks in both countries.
In its financial report dated Aug. 23, the Hong Kong-listed company showed that in an interim review for the first half to June 30, 2024, losses had “significantly” narrowed to HK$95 million (EUR11 million) from HK$714 million a year earlier. The company attributed the improvement in particular to “the restructuring and deconsolidation of the group's European subsidiaries.”
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