The fashion group Esprit is closing all 56 stores in Germany by the end of the year. Around 1,300 employees will lose their jobs. The brand rights are to go to the British financial investor Alteri.
The fashion group Esprit is closing all of its 56 stores in Germany by the end of the year. Around 1,300 employees will lose their jobs, the German Press Agency learned. The brand rights for the insolvent European business are to be sold to the British financial investor Alteri.
Esprit did not want to disclose the purchase price. The companies are to be wound up and the products sold off in the stores. The financial investor will not take over the operational business, i.e. neither the stores nor the employees. This will mean that the jobs in the stores and the headquarters in Ratingen will be eliminated. The creditors’ committees of the seven insolvent German Esprit companies have voted in favor of Alteri’s offer, according to a company statement.
Esprit should have a future as a brand
Esprit is to be continued as a brand in the foreseeable future, it is said. Products under the label will continue to be manufactured and sold in Germany – in what form is not yet known. Alteri owns, among others, the fashion company CBR Fashion with the brands Street One and Cecil.
From Esprit to Galeria to FTI
These well-known companies have filed for bankruptcy
Esprit Europe GmbH and six other group companies of the fashion group filed for insolvency in self-administration in May. The proceedings were opened on August 1 by the Düsseldorf District Court. Esprit Europe GmbH is the parent company for Esprit in Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, Poland and Great Britain. Purchasing and sales are organized in various European subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries.
Business abroad not affected
Esprit is active in around 40 countries worldwide. Business outside Europe is not affected by the insolvency. The group’s main company, Esprit Holding, is based in Hong Kong. However, Germany is the group’s most important market.
The fashion group Esprit had already applied for protective shield proceedings for several German companies in 2020. At that time, around 50 branches in Germany were closed and around 1,100 jobs were cut.
Source: Stern
