Esprit plans Asia comeback as it focuses on higher quality, slower fashion

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jul 19, 2022

Recovering fashion retailer Esprit Holdings is planning an Asian comeback and a focus on higher quality rather than the fast-fashion strategy that failed to score a hit with consumers.

That’s according to CEO William Pak who, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, said the firm that the firm’s output is also more expensive than previously.

The company’s planned Asian return comes after it closed its 56 stores there in early 2020.

Next month it will open a Causeway Bay, Hong Kong flagship. This follows the opening of a pop-up in Seoul in South Korea in April. The company is also targeting at least one store in each of the key Asian markets where it has an online presence, although its e-commerce operation remains its primary focus.

The business has launched online platforms in a variety of Asian countries and territories, including South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines with mainland China, Singapore and Thailand being targets for the firm by year-end.

But as well as this retail strategy, the firm’s tweaked profile is also hugely important. PaK told Bloomberg: “We are really targeting exponential growth of revenue. Esprit is not fast fashion, and it took a long time for this to be realised in the company.”

Part of the change has seen it reducing its output from 12 collections a year to only four, with the addition of limited edition collections in collaboration with partners during the year. It has also relocated its HQ to Asia, where most of its suppliers are located.

This helped it to its first profit last year as it achieved net income of HK$381 million ($48.5 million).