Hong Kong-listed fashion brand Esprit takes new hit from pandemic

Casual clothier's retreat from Asia is culmination of a decade of struggle

An Esprit store in Hong Kong in 2017. The company's troubles did not begin with the pandemic, but instead trace back about a decade. © Reuters

KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei Asia chief business news correspondent

September 30, 2020 14:02 JST

HONG KONG -- Fashion brand Esprit Holdings may be listed in Hong Kong, but you no longer can find any of its stores in the territory.

The company retreated from its entire retail business in Asia at the end of June. Mainland China was supposed to be the exception, operated under a joint venture, but the company said in a statement late Tuesday night that the agreement was terminated at the end of July "due to material breach of terms by the contract partner."