Iconic Clothing Retailer Filing for Bankruptcy + Closing Stores

The retail apocalypse is unlike the zombie apocalypse in that the retail one is actually happening in America currently.

Joining the list of stores that are shutting it down and closing all locations is the iconic clothing retailer, Esprit.

In the ’80s and ’90s you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing that iconic Esprit branding on shirts, hats, keychains and anywhere else you could imagine.

After being in the game for 56 years, sales over the past decade or so have been slowly dwindling. The brand tried a mega-rebrand in 2023, and even got a large business complex in order in New York to house all elements of the business.

They gave it the good old college try, but they have fallen short in their efforts.

Esprit, which were once in nearly every shopping mall in America, were down to their last 80 locations when they decided now is the time to pull the plug.

They have filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, which there is no turning back from.

The current Esprit COO, Tony Strippoli, says, “With costs and rents and the state of the business, it was unsustainable… we ramped up too fast.”

Esprit is a global company. Esprit’s parent company, Esprit Holdings Limited, remains operational with headquarters in Hong Kong and a limited presence in Europe.

However, they recently closed around 160 stores in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland, and now it’s America’s turn.

Esprit was founded by Douglas Tompkins, who also founded The North Face. He passed away in 2015. Time to start digging through your old clothes to see if you can find those Esprit shirts — they could be worth a lot more soon.