Esprit tries again in China: joint venture with Mulsanne

Esprit tries again in China. The German company, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, has created a joint venture with local company Mulsanne to boost its business in the country. Currently, Esprit generates only 3.7% of its sales in Mainland China.

The two companies will invest 100 million yen (14.2 million dollars) to the new company, which will be 60% controlled by Mulsanne and 40% by Esprit. The agreement excludes operations in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

 Esprit reduced its sales in the Chinese market by 33.8% last year

Mulsanne has a commercial network of 2,000 stores in Mainland China and operates with brands such as GXG, Yatlas and 2XU. For now, the joint venture is not yet completed due to the pending approval of the authorities. Esprit will continue to close stores in the country within the framework of its global cost reduction plan.

The German company ended its fiscal year 2018 with sales in mainland China of 481 million Hong Kong dollars (61.3 million dollars), down 33.8% compared to the previous year, excluding online operations.