Dutch branch of clothing chain Esprit bankrupt, no prospect of restart

The Dutch branch of the clothing chain Esprit has been declared bankrupt by the court in Amsterdam. This will result in over 200 people losing their jobs. According to curator Erik Schuurs, there are no prospects for a potential restart.

All 18 Dutch stores were closed earlier this week after parent company Esprit Holdings started bankruptcy proceedings for the Dutch division. Esprit was then granted a moratorium by the court in Amsterdam. Schuurs reports that this moratorium has now been converted into bankruptcy. "This is very unfortunate for all employees and other parties involved."

No winter collection was made, which means that there is almost no stock left in the Dutch stores. The Dutch webshop will remain online. It is run entirely from Germany. The brand rights are also outside the Dutch bankruptcy because they are housed elsewhere in the Esprit group.

Esprit has been in dire straits in several countries for some time now. This is because the costs of energy and purchasing have risen sharply, while the retail sector is also facing competition from large Chinese web shops. Esprit also complained about high wage costs in Germany due to an unnecessarily large workforce and problems in logistics.

The company, founded in 1968, requested a form of deferment of payment for departments outside the Netherlands earlier this year to gain time to reach an agreement with creditors. Esprit stores had also already been closed in Belgium.