Esprit is plotting its U.S. comeback.
The Hong Kong-based retailer announced on Thursday that it has signed a lease with Hudson Square Properties in New York City for what will become the company’s new global creative headquarters.
According to Esprit, the new 38,000-square-foot office at 160 Varick St. will span two floors and will accommodate approximately 100 to 120 employees across global design, branding, creative and marketing teams.
While this office will not replace the company’s global headquarters in Hong Kong, the opening does signal the brand’s return to the U.S., where Esprit was originally founded in 1968.
Esprit CEO William Pak said in a statement on Thursday that the New York opening was done with intention as the company looks to “resonate” with a global audience. “New York City is the cultural epicenter of the world, a diverse city full of incredible talent,” Pak said. “From a creative and design perspective, the next evolution of Esprit, like New York, will be sleek, aspirational and timeless.”
The official brand relaunch is set for mid-2023 with a focus on “modernizing the brand heritage and values for today’s consumer in a way that resonates across generations,” the company said in a press release. Esprit is slated to debut a range of fashion items at an attainable price point that “embodies an ode to the ‘80s and ‘90s.”
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Stores are also planned for the States. The company added that it will open flagships in New York City and Los Angeles in 2023, as well as additional stores across the U.S. and Canada in the coming year.
This news follows the November opening of Esprit’s Los Angeles pop-up on Robertson Boulevard. The pop-up marked the first physical U.S. retail presence for Esprit since 2012 and coincided with a relaunch of the brand’s e-commerce site.
