Clothing chain Esprit aims to regain role as a retail fashion leader

When Esprit last month announced it had hired a senior executive from rival Inditex - the company behind Zara - many took it as a sign the fashion retailer wanted to emulate its successful Spanish competitor as a way of revitalising its own brand.

But new chief executive Jose Manuel Martinez Gutierrez has other ambitions.

"His mission is not to make Esprit a Zara," said Ronald Van der Vis, the outgoing chief executive of Esprit, in an interview with the Post at the company's offices in Dusseldorf, Germany.

via Business feed http://www.scmp.com/business/article/1033063/clothing-chain-esprit-aims-regain-role-retail-fashion-leader