Dieter Messner takes over as Esprit Germany’s new GM

Dieter Messner has replaced Arndt Brockmann as the General Manager of Esprit Germany, reports Fashion Network. Brockmann, who looked after the German retail and wholesale business since June 2013, will make an exit on March 10, 2017.

Messner, who has already been associated with the company as head of the retail and wholesale divisions for Europe (excluding Germany), the Middle East and the Americas since 2015, will now be responsible for Esprit’s business in Germany, the largest market for the company, the report adds.

The reports further says that after witnessing unprofitable years in the recent past, Esprit decided to pull shutters on the non-performing stores while investing in product development and image makeover to drive sales. This strategy lead the Hong Kong stock exchange-listed company to post rise in profit for the year to the end of December to 61 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.8 billion dollars) as a result of a tax credit. However, revenue bore the impact of store closure and declined 11 percent to 8.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (1.06 billion dollars). There was a slight uptick in like-for-like sales.