Fashion firm Esprit files for insolvency in Europe

The global fashion retailer Esprit has filed for insolvency for its European business.

The company said on Wednesday that it filed for insolvency for Esprit Europe GmbH and six other German subsidiaries at a court in the German city of Dusseldorf.

Business operations are to continue until further notice. Current managing director Man Yi Yip will leave the company, according to the press release. Lawyers Christian Gerloff and Christian Stoffler are to take over the management and reorganize the fashion group.

The approximately 1,500 employees affected in Germany have been informed, according to the statement. Talks have already been held with an interested financial investor.

Esprit had been suffering from declining sales “for some time”, said Gerloff. Significant parts of the European business are affected by the insolvency. The Esprit subsidiaries in Belgium and Switzerland had already filed for insolvency in March.

Esprit is active in around 40 countries worldwide and has its main headquarters in Ratingen, Germany and Hong Kong. Germany is the most important market for the group. According to the company, there are 57 shops nationwide and 124 in Europe.

The Esprit fashion group had already applied for protective shield proceedings for several German companies in 2020. At that time, around 50 shops in Germany were closed and around 1,100 jobs were cut.