Esprit loses CEO, CFO as board moves head office function back to Hong Kong

Esprit Group has announced that its CEO Anders Kristiansen and chief financial officer (CFO) Johannes Schmidt-Schultes are both exiting the company next year.

Kristiansen, who was formerly managing director of New Look, has been at the helm of Esprit since June 2018 and has led the group’s restructuring process during what the company describes as an “extremely difficult” period. He has resigned with immediate effect as an executive director and will remain group CEO until 28 February.

Similarly, Schmidt-Schultes, who joined in October 2019, has stepped down with immediate effect as an executive director and will also stay on as CFO until 28 February.

It comes after Esprit’s major shareholder, North Point Talent Limited, in July called for Kristiansen and Johannes Schmidt-Schultes to step down.

Esprit said Friday that both Kristiansen and Schmidt-Schultes were exiting the company to pursue other business commitments and that they left having “no disagreement with the board”.

Additionally, Christin Su Yi Chiu has been appointed as a member of the Risk Management Committee of the board, with immediate effect.

“The board would like to take this opportunity to express its sincere gratitude to Mr. Kristiansen and Dr. Schmidt-Schultes for their valuable contribution to the company during their tenure of office,” Esprit said.

Esprit Group, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, said it now plans to relocate its management to Hong Kong.

Esprit applied for Protective Shield Proceedings for its German subsidiaries back in March after taking a hit from Covid-19 and temporary store closures in Europe and Asia.

Fast forward to July, and the company announced it would cut 1,100 jobs in Germany as it looked to close around half of its stores in the country.