Esprit to open stores across North America as part of repositioning

Californian label Esprit is preparing to roll out a series of permanent stores in North America and beyond as it continues to reposition the brand against the backdrop of its recent relaunch.

In a conversation with FashionUnited, the company’s chief executive William Pak said that it would be unveiling new retail locations in Los Angeles and New York this autumn.

A new store in Vancouver, Canada, will follow in winter, with locations in Miami, Chicago, Toronto and Texas to come in the first quarter of next year.

Currently, the brand has been operating out of two pop-ups in LA and New York, which Pak said had driven a much faster roll out in order to bolster its repositioning efforts.

With the new stores, Esprit is expected to change its retail model over the next few quarters, with a refreshed focus solely on the brand itself in place of its series of owned brands – which include EDC and the White and Black label.

Esprit began its brand transformation three years ago, during which time it carried out a strategic review of its vendor base, supply chain partners and retail network in a bid to streamline its operations.

In the summer of 2022, it then underwent a rebrand, with the “new Esprit” – described by Pak as an updated, modernised version of the label – to be unveiled in September.

Esprit currently has around 20 partner stores in Southeast Asia and 50 in Latin America, with over 160 of its owned retail stores in Europe and around 400 franchise stores also in the region.