Esprit Holdings (0330) has reduced its target for the number of new outlets it will set up before June next year as it focuses on store area and quality instead.
The company had initially planned to open 60 to 80 stores worldwide but that has been cut to 50.
"It might be smaller in number of stores but larger in terms of size [per store]," Esprit executive chairman Heinz Krogner-Kornalik said.
"And we will still achieve our plans of square-meter expansion."
The company will focus more on quality rather than numbers, group chief executive officer Ronald Van der Vis said. The majority of Esprit's new stores are in Europe and Asia, with a few in North America.
Although 2010 will likely still be a tough year, the clothing retailer is optimistic about Europe's future economic growth.
Krogner-Kornalik expects the operating environment in the continent to return to normal within the second half of next year.
"We might have seen the worst," said Krogner-Kornalik, adding that there is a lot of data indicating the market will be up, even though the figures are not very remarkable.
The company has a current market share of 3.5 percent of the retail apparel sector in Germany and about 1.7 to 1.8 percent in France.
"We also have excellent business in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and Switzerland," Van der Vis said.
The company may also consider further expansion within the Asia-Pacific region, according to Van der Vis.
Esprit has been in discussions with China Resources Enterprise (0291) to buy the remaining stake in their mainland-based retail joint venture, Krogner- Kornalik said.
China Resources Enterprise owns 51 percent of the joint venture.
Shares of Esprit rose 0.48 percent to close at HK$52.50 yesterday.
