Esprit Holdings Limited is a publicly owned manufacturer of apparel, footwear, accessories, jewellery and housewares under the ESPRIT label. The company is headquartered and managed from Kowloon, Hong Kong, and Ratingen, Germany. In the 2007–2008 business year, Esprit Holdings Limited generated a worldwide group turnover of around EUR 3.25 billion (as of 30.06.2008). The Group operates more than 770 directly managed retail stores worldwide and distributes its products via more than 15,150 wholesale locations around the globe. The company has more than 1.1 million square meters of retail space in more than 40 countries.
The ESPRIT brand name is also licensed to other manufacturers. In addition, the group owns the Red Earth cosmetics brand. Red Earth was popular in the 1980s, especially with suburban teenagers. It remains well-known with people of the middle-class income, especially in its largest market—Germany.
The Esprit flagship stores feature both current Esprit fashion lines and license products under one roof. Esprit has its own architecture department that is responsible for the worldwide design of its stores.
Product lines
Esprit has split its individual product ranges into organisational divisions, which act as independent business units.
- Women Casual – sporty and fashionable indoor and outdoor styles
- Men Casual – uncomplicated sportswear with a high wearing comfort
- Women Collection – high-quality, feminine business looks
- Men Collection – elegant, trend-oriented business fashion
- de.corp ESPRIT URBAN CASUAL – young, urban and feminine, addresses 18 to 25-year-old female customers who are in search of a casual, urban look
- Esprit Kids – current, child-oriented trends (0 to 7 years old)
- Esprit Sports – skiwear, fitness fashion and streetwear for women, men and kids that harmoniously combines fashion and function
- Accessories – bags, leather and textile accessories for men and women
- Shoes – women’s, men’s and children’s shoes from fashionable to classic, from leather to nylon
- Bodywear – day and night underwear, as well as swimwear for men, women and kids
In 1998, the young range edc by Esprit was founded. The range for girls from 14 to 24 years brings out 12 monthly basis new product lines a year. Based on the success and growth of edc by Esprit, edc men was established in 2002. The edc portfolio is completed by its own shoes, accessories and bodywear ranges, as well as edc licenced products.
- edc by Esprit – very trendy instant range for 14 to 24-year-old girls
- edc men – cosmopolitan trends for young, fashion-conscious boys
- edc accessories – trendy bags, leather and textile accessories for girls and boys
- edc shoes – shoes that match the trends of edc by Esprit and edc men
- edc bodywear – trendy underwear for an individual look
- edc youth by Esprit – brand new styles for little rebels between 8 and 14
Since 2007, edc by Esprit has been an independent brand with its own team.
From the pure product to the complete service strategy, since 1990 licence partnerships have been emphasising the expansion of the Esprit brand into a global lifestyle group. In cooperation with companies with a strong market presence, a large and partly worldwide pool of Esprit licences was created in the meantime. The more than 30 licence partners include, for example, Coty/Lancaster, which carries out the global management of Esprit’s scent range and Falke, the licence partner for socks and stockings. Under the name “Esprit timewear + jewel”, Egana Holdings Ltd. has been producing watches and jewellery for more than ten years. Esprit has focussed on and expanded two sectors: the sector of Esprit home with a comprehensive selection of furniture, carpets, wallpaper, lighting, living accessories, home textiles and exclusive bathrooms, as well as the kids’ world that ranges from maternity wear to toys and bug-gies to complete nursery furniture. There are plans to further expand the licence business worldwide
