Esprit is making a big return to Robson Street in downtown Vancouver

Future location of Esprit on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Over a decade after Esprit closed its store on Robson Street, it is now set to make a prominent return to downtown Vancouver’s fashion retail strip.

Signage with Esprit’s logo with messaging boasting its return soon to Robson Street was recently plastered onto the exterior of the two-storey unit.

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Esprit will occupy the space at 1088 Robson Street — a unit recently vacated by J.Crew, located adjacent to the recently opened Herschel Supply store.

The Hong Kong-based retailer, originally founded in San Francisco in the 1960s, has lines for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing.

In 2012, Esprit closed its store location to the west at 1160 Robson Street, which is now occupied by New Balance. This was part of Esprit’s decision at the time to close all North American stores — numbering about 100 locations — to focus on its Asian and European business.

espirit 1160 robson street vancouver 2009

Esprit’s previous 1160 Robson Street store location, circa 2009, now occupied by New Balance. (Google Maps)

Shortly after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Esprit closed all of its Asian store locations outside of Mainland China.

According to a report by Retail Insider in late 2022, Esprit is in the midst of a re-entry strategy into Canada and the United States, with new stores now opening in the North American market to reverse its previous complete retreat.

Esprit did not respond to Daily Hive Urbanized’s inquiry in time for publication.

The return of Esprit provides some new momentum for Robson Street. J. Crew closed its Robson Street location in September 2020, just eight years after it opened in the space previously occupied by Tommy Hilfiger.

Last year, the former J. Crew space was used as a temporary Lululemon store, while the permanent flagship store at 970 Robson Street underwent renovations.

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