Assets are likely to be shown to a number of private-equity companies

New York - Esprit Holdings Ltd, the biggest Hong Kong-listed clothier, is exploring the sale of its US and Canadian operations, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Rothschild in New York has been hired to advise Esprit, said the people, who declined to be identified because the process isn't public.

The assets are likely to be shown to a number of private-equity funds, said one of the people.

Esprit's sales in North American countries, where it has more than 90 stores, grew 11 percent to HK$657 million ($84 million) in its fiscal first half, which ended in December. The clothing retailer's stock has plummeted in the past year amid slumping sales in Europe, its biggest market.

A representative of Rothschild didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment. Patrick Lau, Esprit's senior vice-president for finance and head of investor relations, declined to comment on the matter. Chief Financial Officer Chew Fook-aun couldn't immediately be reached.

Esprit fell 3.8 percent to HK$20.50 at the close of trading in Hong Kong as Asian stocks slumped amid concerns that the US economic recovery is weakening and Europe's debt crisis may spread. The retailer's shares are down 45 percent this year as it contends with higher materials costs and competition from Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex SA's Zara.

Esprit, which began in 1968 in California, has more than 1,150 directly managed retail locations worldwide and more than 12,000 wholesale outlets, including franchises and "shops in stores". The North American division accounted for 3.7 percent of Esprit's HK$17.7 billion revenue in the six months through December.

The company, with a market value of HK$26.5 billion, was started by Susie and Doug Tompkins when they sold clothes out of the back of a station wagon in San Francisco, according to the company's website.

The transformation into a global brand began three years later, when the couple met Hong Kong businessman Michael Ying, who was chairman from 1993 until 2006.

The current chairman is Hans-Joachim Koerber, the former chief executive officer of Germany's Metro AG, who took over from Heinz Krogner in February.

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