Esprit has come a long way from its humble beginnings. The brainchild of San Francisco pair Susie Jenkins and Doug Tompkins, who met when Jenkins picked up the hitchhiking Tompkins in California, the company was incorporated as Esprit de Corp in the early 1970s.
By the late '70s, current chairman Michael Ying had founded Esprit Far East Group -- expanding the company's presence, crucially, to Hong Kong. In 1979, the famous Esprit 'stencil' logo came into being, presaging the '80s, when Esprit's business boomed on the back of trendy designs and colourful advertising. Esprit was often ahead of its time. It started Esprit Kids in 1981 and brought the 'shop-in-shop' concept to the US. A café soon launched, and its 'Real people' campaign used employees as its advertising stars.
By the early '90s, Esprit's Asian business was booming. The Hong Kong arm listed on the city's Stock Exchange and, by 2002, Esprit Asia had been renamed Esprit Holdings and now owned the global business, along with the US trademark rights. Europe and Asia-Pacific had become the key markets, and recent US results only confirmed the brand's flagging presence in North America.
By 2005, Esprit's US sales had dropped by 90 per cent from the 1987 peak after the brand shut its standalone stores and catalogue business in 1996, returning only this year with a New York presence. Despite this, 2005 remained a strong year, with global full year profit up by two thirds. This bullish performance prompted Esprit to reveal plans to acquire a luxury goods company within three years. Ostensibly, Esprit hopes that such an acquisition will help raise quality and prevent the need to cut prices in order to defend market share. The initiative demonstrates the distance Esprit has travelled since its inception over 30 years ago.
As a global giant in a cutthroat market, it now competes with the likes of Zara and Hennes & Mauritz, and is expected to expand its retail coverage even further in 2006, by adding 110 new stores and 1,400 wholesale outlets.
