September 2023
Teaching Note
HBS Case Collection

Esquel Group

Format:Print
| Language:English
| Pages:5

Abstract

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 307-076 and 322-058. These cases focus on the experience of China's largest shirt manufacturer, Esquel Group, and how it manages various aspects of government relations in China and abroad. The A case identifies a wide variety of social initiatives Esquel has undertaken. The B case dives into the challenges facing the company. Deteriorating U.S-China relations and the trade war have damaged Esquel's business. Worse, the U.S. government launched a campaign dissuading firms from doing business in Xinjiang. Ultimately, one of Esquel Group's Xinjiang plants was placed on the Entity List, banning the company from accessing U.S.-produced goods and services and largely shutting its products out of U.S. markets. How could Esquel reinvent itself? Would it deepen its ties to the Chinese market or close down its Xinjiang operation to appease the Americans? How might it be removed from the Entity List and restore its reputation?