Esprit shares plunge 22% after CEO resigns

Hong Kong-listed shares of clothing retailer Esprit Holdings Ltd (0330.HKG) fell 22% on June 13, the most in 15 years, on news that two of the company’s top executives had resigned within 24 hours of each other, Bloomberg reported. Espirit CEO Ronald Van der Vis quit on June 12, and the company reported the departure of Chairman Hans-Joachim Koerber one day later, both due to personal reasons. The departures follow the resignation of the company’s CFO in December and a non-executive director in February. Esprit’s profits have declined for the last three years as it lost ground to rivals including H&M (HMSB.ETR) and Inditex’s (ITX.MCE, ITE.ETR) Zara. In addition, while the firm has been making headway in China, about 79% of Esprit’s revenue still comes from Europe, which is struggling with a debt crisis and high unemployment.