German shoe giant Deichmann buys rights to Esprit

Deichmann, Europe’s largest shoe retail group, is buying the rights to the Esprit brand for Europe and the United States. The plan is to distribute Esprit shoes, while the rights to Esprit’s clothing is sold on.

Back on its feet

The bankrupt Esprit brand will return to the high streets after all, albeit in stores of shoe chains like VanHaren. Deichmann is acquiring all of Esprit’s brand rights for European markets and the US. The German group will focus on shoes, as it has already been developing shoe collections together with Esprit since 2019. Meanwhile, the rights to Esprit’s clothing and textiles will be passed on to brand agency Theia Brands.

A concrete acquisition price was not disclosed. Esprit’s Hong Kong owner holding company had been looking for a buyer for the brand rights since April, as one after the other national branch of the fashion retailer went bankrupt and all shops closed.