Product, Product Planning and Product Development For 37 years, Esprit has carved a name to become a well-known clothing brand all over the world. It is owned by a company known as Esprit Holdings Limited, which is a retail and wholesale distributor of lifestyle products designed under the Esprit brand name. The company also distributes cosmetic products under the Red Earth brand name. The group offers 12 product lines that consist of women’s wear, men’s wear, kid’s wear, edc youth (clothes for 18 to 24 years old), as well as shoes and accessories through over 640 directly managed retail stores in more than 40 countries spanning Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. Its headquarters is located in Kowloon, Hong Kong and the company employs about 9,600 people. Still a profitable company, Esprit recorded revenues of HK$29,640 million (approximately $3,791.8 million) during the fiscal year ended June 2007, an increase of 26.9% over 2006. The operating profit of the company was HK$6,259 million (approximately $800.7 million) during the fiscal year 2007, an increase of 31.4% over 2006. The net profit was HK$5,180 million (approximately $662.7 million) in the fiscal year 2007, an increase of 38.6% over 2006. Armed with a wide array of products, Esprit is continually developing new product lines and licenses to establish “Esprit world”. In fact, it is in Esprit’s objective to meet needs of their valued customers by offering the broadest possible range of products, consisting of 12 individual divisions according to and depending on local market needs and opportunities:   * Women Casual – This is Esprit’s defines this clothing product line as the “feminine, fashionable styles for indoors and outdoors”.   * Women Collection – In this product line, Esprit produces top-of-the-line and high quality feminine tailored dresses for women, which they can wear in the workplace or in any special occasion.   * Men Casual – Esprit creates this product line for men to be worn on ordinary days, yet with style and a high level of comfort.   * Men Collection – This clothing line is designed to be worn by men who want to have an elegant, trend-orientated work-wear.   * Esprit Kids & edc youth by esprit – With kids as an important market, Esprit delineates their designs from current trends that can be suitably worn by children from Newborn to Minis (0 to 7 years). They also offer clothes in this segment for “Little Rebels” (8 to 14 years).   * Esprit Sports – Another unique segment by Esprit, their designers concoct stylish skiwear, fitness fashions and streetwear for women, men and kids, as they combine fashion and function that still emits that flair and feeling of the brand Esprit.   * edc by esprit – Because of the strengthening of the market in the segment of 18 to 24 year old women, Esprit allotted “edc” as a label for the clothing that has matching accessories and shoes in this particular age group.   * edc men – As they created edc for women ages 18 to 24, Esprit did not hesitate to include their edc men’s line that is described as the “cosmopolitan trend-led clothes for young, fashionable young men”.   * Accessories – As Esprit lends its trusted brand name, these accessories are surely not deprived of style as these produce “trend led bags, leather and textile acces