Esprit’s new shareholder North Point demands directors to resign

Esprit has announced that its new major shareholder North Point Talent Limited has proposed the removal of the company’s executive directors.

Having increased its stake by 12.74 percent of Esprit’s total outstanding shares, Hong Kong-based North Point is now the Ratingen-based retailer’s largest shareholder. The company additionally demanded the resignation of Esprit’s managing director Anders Kristiansen and financial director Johannes Schmidt-Schultes.

“We are surprised about the proposition to remove the executive directors from the company,” said Esprit in a statement on Friday. “Right now, Esprit is at a crucial moment as we are just starting the implementation of our restructuring initiatives in our biggest market Germany, after the opening of the proceedings announced last week. It is the board’s view that any contemplated removal of the executive directors would be a threat to the going concern of the business.”

In a written requisition on July 8, North Point requested the staging of a special general meeting, where the following changes would be made: Kristiansen and Schmidt-Schultes would be replaced by the new executive directors Marc Tschirner, Su Yi Christin Chiu and Hung Wai Wong.

“Nevertheless, we are in the process of assessing the arguments posed by North Point Talent Limited, and will seek further clarification on their vision for the business, and their operational intentions to master the challenges the company is currently facing,” Esprit concluded.

Last week, Esprit first reported its plan to close half of its German stores and cut 20 percent of jobs worldwide as part of its restructuring initiative.

Photo credit: Esprit Store Beijing