Hong Kong-based apparel retailer Esprit has appointed Jose Manuel Martínez Gutiérrez as its new CEO and executive director, effective by the end of September.

“Martínez has a track record of outstanding leadership that will be critical to executing Esprit’s transformation plan. He is passionate about continuing the work to revitalise Esprit’s brand, and brings with him a unique perspective built from within the fashion retailing business, and during his many years as a consultant to our industry,” said Raymond Or, non-executive chairman of Esprit.

Martínez has previously held various senior positions at Inditex, having most recently held the position of group director of distribution and operations where he executed a commercial distribution model and strategy said to be a key factor in delivering growth for the retailer over several consecutive seasons.

Prior to this role, he was the country manager for the Zara brand across Scandinavia. Before joining Inditex, Martínez spent eight years at McKinsey & Company where he led the firm’s retail and consumer goods practice in Spain.

Paul Cheng, non-executive deputy chairman of Esprit, said Martínez’s impressive performance, coupled with his international perspective, will bring enormous value to Esprit as it continues its journey to drive growth over the coming years.

“I am confident that his energy, integrity and innovative thinking will help us to take the Esprit brand and business to a leading position with our global target customers.”

Esprit had said earlier this year that it had ‘lost its soul’ after its earnings fell 98 per cent last year.

Esprit Group operates more than 1000 directly managed retail stores worldwide and distributes its products via more than 11,000 wholesale locations internationally.

GB