-- Esprit Shares plunge over 20%, following CEO's abrupt resignation Tuesday

-- CEO Ronald van der Vis' resignation to take effect on or before July 1, 2013

-- No replacement has been named

-- Analysts cite concerns about the company's long-term outlook

(Adds analyst comments in 5th-7th graphs, context in 8th graph, more analyst comment in graphs 9, 11-13)

By Chester Yung and Yvonne Lee

HONG KONG--Shares of Esprit Holdings (0330.HK) slumped more than 20% to a five-month low on Wednesday following the sudden resignation of its chief executive, in the latest sign that the fashion retailer faces an uphill battle to revitalize its brand and change its fortunes.

Chief Executive Ronald van der Vis cited "personal and family reasons" for his resignation, which is effective on or before July 1, 2013, Esprit said on Tuesday.

This is the second time in weeks that a high-level executive is leaving Esprit. Its chief financial officer left earlier this month.

At the midday close, the blue-chip retailer fell 21.2% to HK$10.62, off an intraday low of HK$10.36. In comparison, the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.34%.

Analysts on Wednesday reiterated their concerns about leadership transition at the company, with some expressing doubt about whether the company's current strategy to reinvent itself is working.

"The news is negative, especially as Esprit is still at the early stage of its transformation plan. With Mr. van der Vis' departure, it is unclear if Esprit has sufficient management resources and capability to drive and manage its transformation plan going ahead," DBS Vickers Alice Hui said.

Ms. Hui said she expects Esprit's share performance to be negatively affected in the near term, especially since shares have risen more than 10% since early June.

Esprit competes with Hennes & Mauritz AB and Inditex SA in the global retail apparel market. The fashion retailer is pressing ahead with efforts to revive its brand after declaring last year it had "lost its soul." But its reliance on Europe for the bulk of its revenue also has been problematic, with persistent economic weakness there weighing on growth. Its fortunes in the U.S., another key market, has been equally dismal; Esprit has been closing down stores in North America in the last year after unsuccessful efforts to rebuild the company's prominence in the market where it began operations 44 years ago.

"The key question lies in the replacement and the future of Esprit's transformation plan. We still expect Esprit's topline growth to disappoint," Goldman Sachs said in a research note, maintaining the stock at neutral.

Mr. van der Vis couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Officials at Esprit couldn't immediately be reached for further comment on a replacement for Mr. Van der Vis.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Wednesday cut its 12-month target price on the stock to HK$12.50 from HK$14.00 due to slow progress at store remodeling and rising uncertainty over consistent execution of the company's expansion plan. The firm said Mr. van der Vis was the key person driving the group's four-year transformation plan, starting from September 2011, and has rebuilt the management team over the past 18 months.

Still, not all brokerages were negative on the stock. Macquarie kept its outperform rating on Esprit, noting that while the macroeconomic headwinds in Europe are likely to dampen the pace of a turnaround, the stock remains undervalued.

"We also believe that Esprit has deep management strength to continue executing on the transformation plan - although more senior departures would cause our conviction to waver," Macquarie said Wednesday, maintaining its stock price target of HK$24.00.

In May, Esprit reported its revenue for nine months ended March 31 fell 7.2% from a year earlier to HK$24 billion, weighed by continued weakness in its wholesale business and European sales.

Write to Chester Yung at chester.yung@dowjones.com and Yvonne Lee at yvonne.lee@dowjones.com

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