Esprit was worth $20B — then filed for bankruptcy in six countries in one year

Esprit Holdings was a Hong Kong-listed fashion brand that at its peak had a market capitalisation exceeding $20 billion. Founded in California in 1968, the brand became a global casual-fashion chain with stores across Asia, Europe and the Americas. It was one of the most recognisable fashion brands of the 1990s and 2000s.

The 2008 financial crisis broke the growth model. Esprit entered five consecutive years of losses. The brand that had defined casual fashion for a generation could not compete with fast fashion on speed or with premium brands on desirability. It was squeezed in the middle — neither cheap enough nor special enough.

During the pandemic, Esprit closed all stores in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Macau. Singapore was the first to shut, on 7 April 2020. The Asian retreat left the brand dependent on Europe, where the decline continued.

In 2024, the serial bankruptcies began: the Swiss franchise filed in March, the Belgian franchise in April (15 stores, 148 jobs), European operations entered administration for the second time in four years in May (1,500 employees affected), Denmark filed in June, the Netherlands in July, and US operations filed for Chapter 7 in October. The $20 billion brand was being dismantled one country at a time.