Sad news for shoppers – fashion chain closing all Australian stores
Fashion retailer Esprit has announced that it will close all 67 of its Australian and New Zealand stores as the Hong Kong listed company focuses on more profitable regions.
On Wednesday, the company announced to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that Esprit Holdings Ltd would divest the ANZ arm “in order to strengthen its foundation for the business”.
“Divesting the ANZ operations will allow management to concentrate efforts and resources in developing other markets in Asia (e.g. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia) with profitable growth opportunities for the future and avoid incurring further losses from our non-performing operations in Australia and New Zealand,” the company said.
“The intended divestment involves closing down 67 directly managed retail stores, including 38 concession counters in department stores and 13 off-price outlets.”
It was not immediately known how many staff would be impacted by the closures.
“The group’s decision is unfortunate but unavoidable,” local director of operations Stephen Newnham told AAP.
For the financial year ended 30 June 2017, the ANZ region represented less than 2 per cent of the total revenue.
Esprit revealed the ANZ revenue in that year totalled $50.5 million.
“The board considers that the rationalisation of the distribution footprint continues to be paramount in order to improve our bottom line, and that the intended divestment of the ANZ operations will allow Esprit to recharge its profit potential in the Asia Pacific region,” it said.
Esprit sadly joins many other fashion retailers who struggled in Australia’s market, including David Lawrence, Marcs, Oroton, Gap and Pumpkin Patch.