Esprit issues fresh profit warning

Fashion retailer Esprit has issued another profit warning amid its ongoing transformation.

The company said Monday it expects to post an unaudited loss attributable to the shareholders of approximately 604 million Hong Kong dollars (around 60 million pounds/70 million euros) for the five months ended May 31.

That compares to a profit of approximately 13 million Hong Kong dollars (1.3 million pounds/1.52 million euros) for the six months ended 30 June 2022.

The retailer said it expects revenue for the five months to May 31 to fall 30.8 percent to 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (250 million pounds/291 million euros).

It said the drop in revenue was largely due to “negative consumer sentiment” in Germany and across the rest of Europe “resulting from the poor economic environment and the continuing conflict in Ukraine”.

It added: “Performance was also affected by short-term adjustments stemming from elevating Esprit’s brand positioning in the fashion industry.”

Esprit has undergone a major transformation in recent years following an extended period of lacklustre trading.

In the past two years, it relocated its headquarters back to Hong Kong and announced a shake-up of its leadership team, including a new CEO, CFO, chief product officer, and chief digital and marketing officer.