No. 38: Esprit Holdings

Current BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 BW Magazine Table of Contents

October 24, 2005 Asia BW 50 Table of Contents

Asia's BW50

2005 Rankings

1	PTT
2	PetroChina
3	Oil and Natural Gas
4	S-Oil
5	Tata Steel
6	POSCO
7	Shinhan Financial Group
8	LG Corp.
9	Samsung Electronics
10	MISC (Malaysia IntÕl. Shipping)
11	Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg.
12	Hon Hai Precision Industry
13	AU Optronics
14	Formosa Chemicals & Fibre
15	Mitsui OSK Lines
16	Reliance Industries
17	CNOOC
18	Tata Motors
19	Hyundai Mobis
20	Komatsu
21	LG Electronics
22	China Petroleum & Chemical
23	Philippine Long Distance Telephone
24	PT BUMI Resources
25	Shell Refining (Federation of Malaya)
26	Sumitomo Metal Industries
27	PT Astra International
28	Thai Petrochemical Industry
29	Kobe Steel
30	Aluminum Corporation of China
31	High Tech Computer
32	Toyota Tsusho
33	Nippon Mining Holdings
34	Formosa Plastics
35	Jilin Chemical Industrial
36	Larsen & Toubro
37	China Steel
38	Esprit Holdings
39	Infosys Technologies
40	LG.Philips LCD
41	China Mobile (Hong Kong)
42	Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical
43	ICICI Bank
44	Siam Cement Group
45	Sinopec Shanghai Petrochemical
46	Matsui Securities
47	Yamada-Denki
48	Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha
49	Orix
50	Nippon Steel

Data: Standard & Poor's Compustat

OCTOBER 24, 2005

STORY TOOLS

MARTIN CHAN/
SCMP

With zero debt, earnings that catapulted 67% for the year ended in June, to $430 million, and stock that's up nearly 40% in the past year, casual clothing retailer Esprit Holdings Ltd. is on a roll. But Chief Executive Heinz Krogner-Kornalik isn't content to let things coast. Instead, the intense German, who took over as CEO in 2002, plans to add 110 outlets to Hong Kong-based Esprit's existing 630 wholly owned stores over the next 12 months. The goal is to expand sales 20%.

The secret to Esprit's success is its nonstop launch of new looks: 12 different clothing collections a year, far more than other fashion retailers. That keeps the company on top of the latest trends and gives it more pricing power. It's doubly impressive since Esprit boasts 12 different clothing lines, ranging from trendy jeans for teens to business casual for the working stiff.

Krogner-Kornalik's big challenge is turning around business in the U.S., which makes up just 3% of sales. In 2002, he bought out brand rights from the company's former San Francisco-based parent, the ailing Esprit de Corp. Now he's determined to revitalize the brand in the world's most competitive market.

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