Esprit names new COO as it eyes revamp of brand and digitisation

Esprit Holdings has appointed Pak William Eui Won as executive director and chief operating officer of the company. Pak has a background in law and his industry expertise also includes technology, alternative energy, mining and real estate.

According to a release by the company, he is experienced in identifying and revitalising underperforming areas and driving favourable results while ensuring sustainable growth. Prior to embarking on a career in the financial industry, Pak was a lawyer in the investment funds practice at White & Case’s New York and Hong Kong offices.  Before joining White & Case, Pak worked in the mergers and acquisitions department in the San Francisco office of a major international firm where he provided transactional tax advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, reorganisations and spin-offs.

Pak is entitled to a salary of HK$1,800,000 per annum, which has been determined by reference to his background, qualifications and industry experience, as well as duties and responsibilities with the Company’s global operations.

His appointment comes as the brand looks to revitalise its image.  In an earlier financial statement released by the group, it said that the COVID-19 pandemic continued to generate “unparalleled disruption and constraints” within the company’s markets throughout the six months ended 30 June 2021. For the majority of the period, many Esprit stores were shuttered due to government enforced restrictions.

Stores that were able to open were operating while observing stringent social distancing controls and limitations on the amount of customers allowed in-store. All of these  restrictions “critically constrained consumer experience, which when combined with vastly reduced foot traffic density across the global markets, meant for deeply disrupted trading conditions”, said the company.

However the effect of the global vaccination programs has helped in recent months, creating more favorable operating conditions consequentially seeing the performance of Esprit retail locations slowly improving, the company said.

With the company’s leadership now headquartered in Hong Kong, Esprit looks to reshape and restructure the organisation.

Moving forward the group will continue to control cost through corporate re-structuring and related measures while closing unprofitable stores and outlets. It will also terminate product lines with low gross profit margin.

Most importantly, it will look to re-establish and improving the Esprit brand image and regain loyalties from both long time as well as new customers. The group will also revamp the eSales platform to be more attractive and user-friendly; and demonstrating the company’s commitment to be a socially responsible corporate citizen in areas such as the environment and sustainability.

In the upcoming months, the company will rollout a redefined brand identity including Esprit’s purpose, values and behaviors. It will also look to execute a new customer relationship management system  which will run alongside the launch of a website and digital commerce platform in America.

The company is also now preparing for the launch of Asia based commercial websites, while testing new in-store concepts and technologies. According to the company, the numerous enhancements in Esprit’s digital look and feel, as well as trading ability for the European website are aimed at targeting global growth opportunities.

“The new leadership team is building a consumer centric culture with an entrepreneurial spirit. This combined with the improvements to Esprit products, marketing, digital content and more, aims to put Esprit back on track to grow and regain pinnacle market position,” said the company.

The Group primarily operates in Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific through four main channels - global digital commerce, wholesale, and owned retail stores and licensing.