Esprit, losses enlarged and sales down 16% in the first half of the year

Esprit does not see the light at the end of the tunnel yet. The fashion group enlarged its losses in the first half of the year after launching a restructuring plan last November. The company lost José Manuel Martínez in March of the past year and signed an ex New look as new CEO.

In the first six months, the group registered 1.77 billion Hong Kong dollars (198.9 million euros) in the red, compared to the negative result of 954 million Hong Kong dollars (107 million euros) from the same period of the previous year.

Between June and December, the group registered a revenue of 6.76 billion Hong Kong dollars (758.6 million euros), 15% less than in the same period of the previous year.

Esprit is now led by Anders Kristiansen, after the departure of José Manuel Martínez in March 2018

“We just set in motion a plan to restructure the company and go back to profits, but it requires some time to attract consumers once again,” explained Anders Kristiansen, CEO of the group. The Chief Financial Officer of the company, on its behalf, also explained that the increase of losses is precisely due to the costs of such restructure.

The strategy, which started implementing Esprit last November, focuses on the Chinese market and the wholesale to go back to profitability. Specifically, the group earmarked 1.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (168.9 million euros) to the reorganization plan.

To rebuild its presence in the Asian giant, the company created a design team specialized in the creation of garments for the region. In addition, the company has intensified its activity through the online channel with the reinforcement of its alliance with Tmall and its entry to other marketplaces, as well as renewing its own e-commerce platform.