The six companies are Esprit Europe Services GmbH, Esprit Wholesale GmbH, Esprit Card Services GmbH, Esprit Design & Product Development GmbH, Esprit Global Image GmbH and the general partner of Esprit Retail BV & CO. KG.
Esprit Europe and six other German companies in Hong Kong-based fashion group Esprit Holdings have filed for self-administration bankruptcy, the company said. Around 1,500 employees would be directly affected by the decision. The group is seeking to restructure its European business and in March filed for bankruptcy in Belgium and Switzerland.
Around 1,500 employees would be directly affected by the decision.
The group, which has a presence in Ratingen, Amsterdam and New York, is seeking to restructure its European business and filed for bankruptcy in Belgium and Switzerland in March this year.
Business operations will continue until further notice, the group stated.
The reasons given by the group for this decision were the extremely high costs of subsidiaries, interest rates and energy prices, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequences of international conflicts, all of which weakened the financial situation of the subsidiaries. .
The situation was exacerbated by the burden of legacy costs, such as high long-term lease rents for undersized stores, labor costs from an overly bloated workforce, and expenses related to an overcapacity logistics setup. .
It is the second insolvency procedure in four years for Esprit, which laid off around a third of its staff and closed 100 branches during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several potential investors have expressed interest in a strategic partnership, the group said.
Fiber2Fashion News Desk (DS)
