The shoe retailer Deichmann is interested in the shoe brand rights of the insolvent fashion brand Esprit. The company confirmed this to the German Press Agency. “The offer relates exclusively to brand rights and not to the company’s operational shares,” said a spokesperson.
Deichmann says it has been working with Esprit since 2019 and sells shoes from the fashion brand. The two companies have been developing shoe collections together for four years. The company was made aware of the possibility of acquiring the license package at short notice, said a spokesperson for Deichmann. Talks are ongoing. Esprit did not want to comment on the matter when asked. Business Insider had previously reported this.
Esprit Europe GmbH and six other group companies of the fashion group filed for insolvency under self-administration in May. At the beginning of August it was announced that the fashion group would close all of its 56 stores in Germany by the end of the year. Around 1,300 employees will lose their jobs as a result.
The brand rights for the insolvent European business are to be sold. The creditors’ committees of the German Esprit companies had voted in favor of signing a basic agreement (“term sheet”) with the British financial investor Alteri and its fashion company CBR Fashion. This was announced in early August. The group holding company in Hong Kong had also given its approval, it was said. CBR owns the fashion brands Cecil and Street One.
The family-owned company Deichmann achieved gross sales of 8.7 billion euros for the first time in 2023. Sales in Germany rose by around nine percent to just under 2.8 billion euros. Deichmann operates around 4,700 stores worldwide, 1,400 of which are in Germany.
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