As Hugo Boss reports sales amounting to £853mn (€1.015bn) for the second quarter, the RetailX Global Luxury 2024 report looks at how the brand has grown to encompasses the main segments of luxury: apparel, footwear and fragrances. In fact, it is a leader in all three.
In the process, the company has also become one of German’s largest fashion brands, selling $3.8bn of goods in 2023, up from $2.2bn in 2019 and generating $2.4bn in profits.
Owned by Italian textile group Marzotto, which until 2005 also owned Valentino Fashion Group, another well-established luxury fashion brand, Hugo Boss operates more than 6,100 points of sale in 124 countries. Hugo Boss AG directly owns more than 364 shops, 537 mono-brand shops, and in excess of 1,000 franchisee-owned shops.
While the brand is a staple of luxury shoppers worldwide, it has become one of those luxury players to have embraced licensing agreements and collaborations with other brands outside the traditional luxury market.
For example, it works with Samsung, HTC and Huawei to produce Boss branded mobile phones, Nike to produce a range of Nike X Boss sports equipment, Movado to produce watches and Safilo to give it a toe-hold in eyewear.
The company has also been active in promoting sports and motor racing, sponsoring Italian Tennis ace Matteo Berrettini – using him as a global ambassador for the brand – and, most recently, sponsoring the Aston Martin Formula One team from 2022 to at least 2025. In previous seasons, Boss has also had its name on Mercedes and McLaren cars.
The company also has something of an environmental bent. In 2020, Hugo Boss was an early adopter of ethical materials, creating its first vegan men’s suit, using all non-animal materials, dyes and chemicals.
In December 2023, Hugo Boss announced its investment in Collateral Good, an organisation set up to create, support and promote new industrial systems and practices that promote positive environmental health. Boss is looking to use the organisation to, in its words, catalyse and accelerate sustainability in the fashion industry.
This company profile was authored by Paul Skeldon and originally appeared in the RetailX Global Luxury 2024 report.
We also look at some of the biggest and best brands in Luxury in more company profiles and company snapshots. We examine: Bottega Veneta, Bulgari, Burberry, Cartier, Christian Louboutin, De Beers Group, Kering Beauté, L’Occitane, Loewe, Our Legacy, Pandora, Prada, Secoo, Swarovski, Titan, Van Cleef & Arpels, Vestiaire Collective, Yves Saint Laurent.
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