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DE 
Ratingen. 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, as the Deutsche Presse-Agentur has learned. The brand rights for the insolvent European business are to be sold to the British financial investor Alteri.
Esprit did not want to provide any information on the purchase price. The companies are to be wound up and the products sold in the stores. The financial investor will not take over the operational business, i.e. neither the stores nor the employees. The jobs in the stores and at the head office in Ratingen will be lost as a result. The creditors' committee of the seven insolvent German Esprit companies has signed a corresponding notice, as the company announced.
The fashion company also has branches in Saxony, including a store in Dresden's Altmarkt-Galerie and a franchise store in Dresden's main railway station. There are further stores in Grimmaische Straße in Leipzig and at Leipzig Central Station.
Esprit should have a future as a brand
It is said that Esprit will continue as a brand in the foreseeable future. Products under the label will therefore continue to be manufactured and sold in Germany - it is not yet known in what form. Alteri owns the fashion company CBR Fashion with the Street One and Cecil brands, among others.
Esprit Europe GmbH and six other group companies of the fashion group filed for insolvency under self-administration in May. The proceedings were opened by Düsseldorf Local Court on August 1. 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. Businesses outside Europe are 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 stores in Germany were closed and around 1100 jobs were cut. (dpa with SZ)
