Chosen as face of Esprit’s latest worldwide campaign, with Erin Wasson, Gisele Bundchen has the tough task of completely changing the brand’s image. Success in the 1980s, Esprit – whose control is split between investors from Hong Kong and Germany – is experiencing a crisis of identity and suffering from competition from larger companies such as H&M and Zara.
* Last week, the directors of Esprit announced a 98% drop in company profits this year and the closure of at least 80 stores in Denmark, Sweden and Spain. The hiring of Gisele, they hope, will return the brand’s cool status, founded in San Francisco in 1968.
* Not surprisingly, posters with the image of the übermodel in Esprit’s main market, Germany, are already flooding the streets and subway stations in cities like Berlin and Munich.
