Esprit, once a glorious company, is now in a state of insolvency. What's even more remarkable is that despite the company's decline, its former major shareholder Xing Liyuan cashed out as much as 21.2 billion Hong Kong dollars during this period, and married the well-known movie star Lin Qingxia, enjoying a luxurious life.
In 1968, the Esprit brand was established in the United States and later moved its headquarters to Germany. Xing started his journey in the apparel industry in Hong Kong as a supplier to Esprit.
In the 90s, Xing Liyuan's opportunity came. By listing in Hong Kong, he has made Esprit's assets and operations in Asia public, a move that has greatly strengthened the company's capital strength.
Soon after, in 2002, Xing successfully took control of Esprit's global business and took full control of the brand's destiny. In the same year, he married Lin Qingxia, an actress who is not only in China, but also in Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and other regions.
The addition of Lin Qingxia has played a huge role in the promotion of the Esprit brand. Not only does she frequently wear Esprit's clothes in public, but she also invites many celebrity friends to participate in the brand's activities, and even serves as a spokesperson herself.
In the 2000s, the global apparel market changed dramatically. The rapid rise of new fast fashion brands such as Uniqlo and ZARA, and the rise of e-commerce have brought with them numerous new challenges. Traditional clothing brands such as Esprit are starting to feel the pressure.
At this critical moment, Xing Liyuan made a decision, that is, to start gradually reducing his stake in Esprit. From 2002 to 2011, he reduced his shareholding from 42% to just 1.79%, and accumulated a total of HK$21.2 billion in cash during this period.
After nearly emptying his stock, Xing resigned from his position at Esprit, and since then he has distanced himself from the company. Since then, the reshuffle of the global apparel market has continued, and Esprit, like many traditional brands, has gradually lost the favor of the market.
Although the company itself has entered a low point, Xing Liyuan's life is still luxurious. His married life with Lin Qingxia has attracted much attention, and the two live in a luxury villa worth 1 billion Hong Kong dollars, and their lives do not seem to be affected in any way.
This contrast makes the outside world wonder whether Xing Liyuan had already foreseen the fate of the company and found a way out for himself in time. In social media and public discussions, the lives of Xing Liyuan and Lin Qingxia became a hot topic.
Many people are unhappy that Xing Liyuan chose to quit when the company needed him most, believing that it was a sign of irresponsibility to investors and employees. Others believe that this is just a smart operation of capital, after all, in business, there is nothing wrong with protecting personal assets.
The case of Esprit has sparked a wide discussion in the industry about the future of traditional apparel brands. With the changes in the market environment and the rise of emerging brands, how established companies need to adapt to the rapidly changing market and continue to innovate and improve has become an urgent problem to be solved.