Esprit History

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The Company Description of Its Time

America, 1968: Susie and Doug Tompkins were driving through California in a station wagon full of their homemade fashion, selling clothing in an unconventional manner - from the backseat of the vehicle. The very first customers, historical descriptions say, were already excited about this new fashion because they sensed the special charm and the lifestyle hiding behind it, and thus the hour of birth of one of the most successful lifestyle brands in the world reflected precisely what its name says: Esprit. It is the most romantic founding story in this letter, and the filing is careful to build the whole brand philosophy out of it - a name that means spirit, sold from the start as a feeling rather than a garment.

Esprit in Figures, and the Lifestyle Idea

The figures are dated to the 2006/2007 business year and preserved as recorded: Esprit Holdings Limited generated a worldwide group turnover of around EUR 2.8 billion (as of 30.6.2007), and net profits increased to around EUR 488 million, growth of 39 per cent in comparison to the previous year. The share of Esprit Holdings Limited is listed on the Hong Kong stock market and is included in the Hang Seng Index, the MSCI Index Hong Kong, the FTSE All World Index for Hong Kong, the S&P/HKEx LargeCap Index and the S&P Asia 50 Index. The Group operates more than 650 directly managed retail stores worldwide and distributes its products via more than 14,000 wholesale locations around the globe, with more than 950,000 square metres of sales area in more than 40 countries.

The brand idea those figures rest on is stated as philosophy: Esprit is an international, young brand that offers its customers the smart, affordable luxury of constantly being able to enrich their life with something special and something new, corresponding to current tastes and styles. The lifestyle concept is the central point of the Esprit philosophy, the filing says, giving customers the security and guidance they want in markets saturated by increasingly short-lived trends - which is why, it claims, Esprit ranks among the brands with the highest level of repeat purchases, with loyal regular customers bound by a joint attitude rather than by age. An in-house image office guards the consistency, developing and monitoring all communication media and coordinating every campaign photo shoot, while Esprit's own architecture department designs the stores worldwide.

Ten Ranges, edc, and Licenses

Esprit splits its product ranges into organisational divisions that act as independent business units, each with its own character and target group under the generic brand values. The ten ranges as recorded: Women Casual (sporty, fashionable indoor and outdoor styles); Men Casual (uncomplicated sportswear with 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, for 18 to 25-year-old female customers); Esprit Kids (child-oriented trends, 0 to 7 years); Esprit Sports (skiwear, fitness fashion and streetwear combining fashion and function); Accessories; Shoes; and Bodywear (day and night underwear and swimwear). Kids, bodywear and swimwear are described here, as across the directory, in strictly product terms.

The young range has its own history: in 1998, edc by Esprit was founded for girls from 14 to 24, featuring current trends from the music scene and the trendiest metropolises, with 12 new product lines a year; edc men followed in 2002, and since 2007 edc by Esprit has been an independent brand with its own team and stand-alone stores. Around the own ranges sits a license business built since 1990: more than 30 license partners, including Coty/Lancaster for the global scent range and Falke for socks and stockings, watches and jewelry under Esprit timewear + jewel, and the Esprit Home sector of furniture, carpets, wallpaper, lighting and home textiles. International designer teams produce up to 12 lines per range per year - monthly ordering for the main casual and collection ranges - with continuous investment, in the filing's quoted words from Chairman and Group CEO Heinz Krogner, in contemporary, high-quality and affordable products. For the current brand and ranges, the official Esprit site in the References is the authority; this profile preserves the global record as recorded.

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