Douglas Rainsford Tompkins was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. He founded the North Face Inc, co-founded Esprit and various environmental groups, including the Foundation for Deep Ecology and Tompkins Conservation.

Esprit Holdings Limited is a global publicly traded retail company incorporated in Bermuda, with headquarters in North Point, Hong Kong, and further major locations in Ratingen, Germany; Amsterdam, Netherlands; and New York City. The company offers an assortment of clothing, accessories, footwear, jewelry, and housewares under the Esprit label.