Esprit Holdings Ltd is a popular apparel and footwear manufacturer based in Ratingen, Germany and Kowloon, Hong Kong. Jewellery, homeware and accessories are other products from Esprit. Spread over 40 countries across the globe, Esprit stores remain an all time favourite among the middle income group especially in Germany due to their high quality products.
The 1960s saw the emergence of Esprit Holdings Ltd. Susie Russell joined forces with Douglas Tompkins and laid the foundation of Esprit Holdings. The company merged with Red Earth in 2001. Currently running under the leadership of Heinz Jürgen Krogner-Kornalik, Esprit Holdings Ltd is an extremely popular brand in the US. Susie Russell, the designer, married Doug Tompkins, the famous skier, in 1964. For the first four years they worked in their apparel designing business. They then collaborated with Michael Ying from the Esprit Far East Group who became the critical sourcing broker in the US.
By the early 1970s, the business grew and was called Esprit de Corp. By the late 1970s, business spread across the Hong Kong and German markets. 1979 saw John Casado design the innovative Esprit stencil effect logo for Esprit Holdings. Slowly and steadily, the apparel designing business spread into the markets of Canada, Chile, Germany, Switzerland, the Philippines and the US. The innovative mail-order pamphlet from Esprit gained immense popularity particularly in the US.
Esprit Kids emerged in 1981 and the first Esprit retail store opened in 1983 in Hong Kong. Two product lines, Esprit and Esprit Sport, became well known. Esprit was able to carve a niche in the fashion market because it attracted children, teenagers and older consumers alike. Their designs were chic, attractive, innovative and colourful. Mail-order pamphlets increased profits and this led to the introduction of Esprit retail stores in many major cities across the globe. Their display style was reinvented and mail-order pamphlet circulation came to an end in 1984.
Advertising campaigns in the 1980s helped Esprit step into the Singapore market. A research team was formed in 1990 and worked towards eco-friendly clothing designs. Branded as Ecollection, the work continued until 1995 when the research was discontinued due to financial constraints, but the research paved the way for introducing organic cotton products in Europe. Esprit Holdings Ltd bagged the Forum-Preis award in Germany in 2000 and became a part of Morgan Stanley’s MSCI Hong Kong Index. To date, Esprit Holdings Ltd is the only company with such a wide reach in the women’s apparel industry. According to a nationwide poll conducted by Fairchild publications, Esprit was listed the 52nd most recognised brands in the US.
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