Esprit Europe files for bankruptcy

Esprit Europe and six other companies of the fashion group have filed for insolvency in self-administration with the Düsseldorf Local Court.

The company said in a statement that the Munich law firm Gerloff Liebler Rechtsanwälte, which has carried out restructuring of Escada, Gerry Weber, Adler Modemärkte, Hallhuber, Laurèl and Tennis-Point among others in the past, is mandated to implement and lead the proceedings.

Lawyer Dr Christian Gerloff and Christian Stoffler have been appointed as managing directors of all the German companies concerned.

Commenting on the development, Christian Gerloff said: "The self-administration proceedings should open up the opportunity to reorganise the European activities in terms of their structure and of the product in such a way that they can become sustainably profitable."

Esprit has already filed for bankruptcy in Belgium and Switzerland in March. The company added that business operations will continue until further notice. Around 1,500 employees are directly affected by the applications.

The company further said that before the applications were submitted, talks were held with a financial investor who has expressed interest in significant parts of the assets of the Esprit companies and negotiations on the acquisition of the brand rights for Europe by this investor are already at an advanced stage.