The insolvent fashion chain Esprit is largely out of business
From the insolvent fashion chain Esprit, barely anything remains in Germany except for the brand. A buyer for the entire company was not found, the Esprit Europe GmbH announced on Thursday in Ratingen near Duesseldorf. The operations will therefore be wound down completely or largely in the coming months.
"We regret to have to conclude that all interested parties in the still very challenging market environment for fashion retail are not willing or only very limited to take on this entrepreneurial risk," said Christian Gerloff, who was appointed to manage the insolvency. Only a two-digit number of the previously 1300 employees will remain, Gerloff told the workforce.
There are two offers for the rights to the "Esprit" brand in Europe, it was stated in the announcement. However, these belong to the Hong Kong-listed Esprit Holding, which is willing to sell them. After several insolvencies in European countries, it has almost no operational business left. The decision on who will receive the bid will be made in the next few days. One of the investors wants to revive the brand at some point, while the second wants to continue operations "on a significantly reduced scale," explained Gerloff. Around ten of the 56 own stores could remain. Many franchisees, like the PTH Group from Bischofswerda, had already left or shortly after the insolvency in May.
For Esprit, this was the second insolvency proceeding in four years. In the Corona pandemic in 2020, the fashion chain had sought protection from insolvency due to closed stores and closed 100 branches. The fashion industry has been experiencing a wave of bankruptcies for years.
Despite the two offers for the "Esprit" brand rights in Europe, the fate of the German operations of the bankrupt fashion chain remains uncertain. Only a limited number of employees and a few of the original stores might continue under new ownership or reduced operations, hinting at a potential revival or downsizing of the fashion chain in Germany.
