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 Headquarters in Metzingen, Germany | |
| Company type | Public (Aktiengesellschaft) |
|---|---|
| FWB: BOSS MDAX Component | |
| Industry | |
| Founded | 1924; 101 years ago (1924) |
| Founder | Hugo Ferdinand Boss |
| Headquarters | , Germany |
Key people | Daniel Grieder (CEO) Yves Müller (CFO/COO) Oliver Timm (CSO)[1] Stephan Sturm (Chairman of the Supervisory Board)[2] |
| Products | High-fashion Accessories Footwear |
| Revenue | €4.3 billion (2024)[3] |
| €361 million (2024)[3] | |
| €224 million (2024)[3] | |
| Total assets | €3.782 billion (2024)[3] |
| Total equity | €1.450 billion (2024)[3] |
| Owners | Free Float (64%) Frasers Group (19%) Marzotto family (15%) Own shares (2%) |
Number of employees | 18,623 (2024)[3] |
| Website | hugoboss.com |
Hugo Boss AG (stylized inall caps) is a German designerfashion company headquartered inMetzingen,Baden-Württemberg,Germany. The company sellsclothing,accessories,footwear, andleather goods. Hugo Boss is one of the largest German clothing brands,[4] with global sales of about€4.3 billion in 2024.[3] Its stock is a component of theMDAX.[5] The company's fashion brands areBoss andHugo. Hugo Boss also sells licensed brand products for children's fashion,eyewear,watches, home textiles, riding apparel,writing utensils andfragrances.[6]
The company was founded in 1924 in Germany byHugo Boss and originally produced general-purpose clothing. In the early 1930s, Hugo Boss began to produce and supplymilitary uniforms for thegovernment of Nazi Germany, resulting in a large boost in sales.[7] AfterWorld War II and the founder's death in 1948, Hugo Boss started to turn its focus tomen's suits. The companywent public in 1988 and introduced a fragrance line that same year, adding men's and women's weardiffusion lines in 1997, a full women's collection in 2000, and children's clothing in 2006–2007. The company has since evolved into a major global fashion house. As of December 2024, it operated 1,532 own retail points of sale worldwide.[3]
After the end of theFirst World War,Hugo Ferdinand Boss (1885–1948) took over his parents' clothing retail business in Metzingen, where it still operates, and registered it as a business for manufactured goods in 1922.[8] In 1924, he started a factory for the production of workwear along with two partners, Albert and Theodor Bräuchle, as shareholders. The company produced shirts, jackets, work clothing, sportswear, and raincoats. In 1925 and 1926, Hugo Boss, like all Metzingen companies, announcedKurzarbeit for its almost 30 employees. In connection with the global economic crisis following theNew York stock market crash of 1929, the company had to reduce its workforce by almost a quarter and file forbankruptcy in 1931. In the same year, Hugo Ferdinand Boss reached an agreement with his creditors, leaving him with sixsewing machines to start again.[7]
In 1931, Hugo Ferdinand Boss became a member of theNazi Party, receiving the membership number 508 889, and a sponsoring member ("Förderndes Mitglied") of theSchutzstaffel (SS).[9] He also joined theGerman Labour Front in 1936, theReich Air Protection Association in 1939, and theNational Socialist People's Welfare in 1941.[10] He was also a member of the Reichskriegerbund and the Reichsbund for physical exercises.[11] After joining these organizations, he received orders for the production of clothing for the Nazi Party and its organizations, which helped Hugo Ferdinand Boss to stabilize the company again and his sales increased from 38,260 ℛ︁ℳ︁ ($26,993 U.S. dollars in 1932) to over 3,300,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ in 1941.[7][11] Though he claimed in a 1934–35 advertisement that he had been a "supplier for National Socialist uniforms since 1924", it is probable that he did not begin to supply them until 1928 at the earliest, but was one of the first to produce brown shirts, copies of the "Lettow shirts" introduced to theSA byGerhard Roßbach in 1924 rather by chance.[11][12] The factory was "one of numerous smaller manufacturing companies involved in uniform production".[7]
Hugo Boss was not involved in the design of the uniform.[13][14] 1924 is also the year the company became aReichszeugmeisterei-licensed supplier of uniforms to theSturmabteilung (SA),Schutzstaffel (SS),Wehrmacht,Hitler Youth,National Socialist Motor Corps, and other party organizations.[10][15]
By the third quarter of 1932, the all-blackSS uniform was designed by SS membersKarl Diebitsch (artist) andWalter Heck (graphic designer). The Hugo Boss company was one of the companies that produced these black uniforms for the SS. By 1938, the firm was focused on producingWehrmacht uniforms and later also uniforms for theWaffen-SS.[16]
During theSecond World War, besides its 300 employees, Hugo Boss employed 140 forced laborers, the majority of them women from theSoviet Union andPoland. In addition to these workers, 40 French prisoners of war also worked for the company briefly between October 1940 – April 1941.[17][18] According to German historian Henning Kober, the company managers were fervent Nazis who were all great admirers ofAdolf Hitler. In 1945, Hugo Ferdinand Boss had a photograph in his apartment of him with Hitler, taken atBerghof, Hitler'sObersalzberg retreat.[7][19]
Because of his early Nazi Party membership, his financial support of the SS, and the uniforms delivered to the Nazi party, Hugo Ferdinand Boss wasconsidered both an "activist" and a "supporter and beneficiary of National Socialism".[11][20] In a 1946 judgment, he was stripped of his voting rights, his capacity to run a business, and fined "a very heavy penalty" of 100,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁ ($70,553 U.S.) (£54,008stg), which was later decreased to 25,000 ℛ︁ℳ︁.[11][20] However, Hugo Ferdinand Boss appealed, and he was eventually classified as a "follower", a lesser category, which meant that he was not regarded as an active promoter of National Socialism.[20]
In June 2000, Hugo Boss joined theFoundation Initiative of German Business for the Compensation of Forced Laborers and contributed financially to the fund.[18] An initial study commissioned by the company at the end of the 1990s on the situation in theThird Reich was not published by the company. The author, Elisabeth Timm, later published it on the internet herself.[11] Later, the economichistorian Roman Köster conducted an independent study, which was also financed by the company and published byC. H. Beck in 2011.[7][13] In the same year, the company issued a statement of "profound regret to those who suffered harm or hardship at the factory run by Hugo Boss under National Socialist rule".[21]
Hugo Ferdinand Boss died in 1948, but his business survived. His son Siegfried Boss and his son-in-law Eugen Holy took over ownership and management of the company. Production initially focused on uniforms for theFrench army and theFrench Red Cross, then on uniforms for thepost office,railroads andpolice.[22] In 1950, the company received its first order formen's suits, resulting in an expansion to 150 employees by the end of the year. Hugo Boss men's suits first appeared on the market in 1953.[23]
By 1960, the company was producing ready-made suits. In 1967, Eugen retired, leaving the company to his sons Jochen and Uwe, who began international development.[24][25] In 1970, the firstBoss branded suits were produced and in 1972, the Holy brothers opened the first factory outlet in a nearby warehouse, which later became theOutletcity Metzingen.[26] In 1975, the Austrian designerWerner Baldessarini was hired and eventually became head designer.[27] TheBoss brand was registered as a trademark in 1977.[28] This was followed by the start of the company's long association with motorsport, sponsoringFormula One teams.[29]
In 1984, the firstBoss branded fragrance appeared. This helped the company gain the required growth for listing on theFrankfurt Stock Exchange the following year.[30] The brand began a golf sponsorship forBernhard Langer in 1986 and tennis for theDavis Cup in 1987. In 1989,Boss launched its first licensedsunglasses. Later that year, the company was bought by a Japanese group.[31]
After theMarzotto textile group acquired a 77.5% stake for $165,000,000 in 1991,[31][32] theHugo,Boss andBaldessarini brands were introduced in 1993. In the same year, the Holy-brothers left the company and Peter Littmann became the new Chairman of the Management Board.[33]
In 1995, the company launched its footwear range, the first in a now fully developed leather products range, across all sub-brands. A partnership with theSolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation was launched in 1995, resulting in theHugo Boss Prize.[34] In 1997, Littmann left the company after differences of opinion with the Marzotto Group and Baldessarini was appointed CEO in 1998.[27]
Women's fashion (Hugo Womenswear) was first introduced in 1998, with the first women's fragrance (Hugo Woman) appearing at the same time.[35][36] Since then, multiple fragrances and skincare ranges have been launched. In January 1999, Hugo Boss launched its first website.[37] Also in 1999, theBoss Orange brand was launched as a separate line for casual wear, followed byBoss Selection (2004) andBoss Green, which emerged fromBoss Golf in 2004.[38] 2000 saw the launch ofBoss Woman, a product line initially managed by German fashion designer Grit Seymour inMilan,[39] which has since also been presented atBerlin Fashion Week andNew York Fashion Week.[40][41][42] In 2002, the company was repositioned with a design team at the Metzingen site.[43][44] TheBaldessarini brand was sold to Werner Baldessarini in 2006 and replaced in theBoss range by theBoss Selection collection.[45][46][47]Boss Selection was expanded in 2009 to includeBoss Selection Tailored Line, but was integrated into the coreBoss brand in mid-2012.[48][49]
In 2002, Baldessarini left the company and Bruno Sälzer took over the position of CEO.[50] Under his leadership, Hugo Boss was transformed into a lifestyle group, the women's line was repositioned, and international expansion was driven forward, particularly in the Asian markets.[43][51] In 2005,Marzotto spun off itsfashion brands into theValentino Fashion Group.[52] In 2007, Valentino was acquired by financial investorPermira for€3.5 billion, which subsequently exerted a significant influence on the Hugo Boss company.[53] Sälzer left the company in February 2008.[54] In mid-2008, Permira appointed Claus-Dietrich Lahrs as CEO of Hugo Boss.[55] Shortly afterward, the company launched an online shop in the UK, followed by other countries.[56]
In 2009, theBoss brand was by far the largest segment, consisting of 68% of all sales. The remainder of sales were made up byBoss Orange at 17%,Boss Selection at 3%,Boss Green at 3% andHugo at 9%.[57] Also in 2009, Hugo Boss was carved out of the Valentino Fashion Group; from then on, the Hugo Boss stake was held by Permira via its Red & Black Holding.[52] Since a share placement on the stock exchange in November 2011, Permira has held around 66% of the total share capital and 89% of the voting rights in Hugo Boss.[58] In 2010, the company had sales of $2,345,850,000 and a net profit of $262,183,000, with royalties of 42% of totalnet profit.[31] Hugo Boss then had at least 6,102 points of sale in 124 countries. Hugo Boss AG directly owned over 364 shops, 537 mono-brand shops, and over 1,000 franchisee-owned shops.[31]
In June 2013, designerJason Wu was hired asartistic director of theBoss womenswear collection.[59][60][61][62] The collaboration ended in 2018.[63] In March 2015, Permira announced plans to sell the remaining shares of 12%.[64] Since the exit of Permira, 91% of the shares have been floating on theFrankfurt Stock Exchange, and the residual 2% have been held by the company. 15% of the shares are owned by the Marzotto family.[65]
Lahrs left the Group in 2016 and the former CFO Mark Langer was appointed as the new CEO in mid-May.[55] In the same year,Coty took over the perfume licenses for Hugo Boss fromProcter & Gamble. A realignment took place shortly afterwards. As a result, theBoss Orange andBoss Green lines were discontinued, and only theBoss andHugo brands remained active. Furthermore, the company's own global prices were adjusted, while unprofitable stores were closed, existing ones modernized and thee-commerce business was expanded.[66][67] In 2017, Hugo Boss was also included in theDow Jones Sustainability Index for the first time. In the same year, the sales of Hugo Boss climbed by 7% during the final quarter of the year.[68] In 2020,Mike Ashley's BritishFrasers Group acquired a stake of around 5% in Hugo Boss.[69] This stake was reduced to 2.63% by February 2023, but Ashley has access to a further 24.69% viafinancial instruments.[70]
In June 2021,Daniel Grieder took over as CEO of Hugo Boss.[55] Under his direction, the growth strategy Claim 5 was introduced, with the objective of improving the consumer journey and product offerings, increasing relevance, and driving growth across all geographical regions. This strategy is intended to ensure the sustainable growth of the company.[71][72][73]
In the same year, Daniel Grieder set the goal of achieving a revenue of 4 billion euros by 2025.[71] As this revenue target was reached two years earlier, Hugo Boss increased the revenue target for 2025 to 5 billion euros in June 2023.[74]
In 2022, Marco Falcioni was appointed Creative Director.[75] The same year, Hugo Boss invested in thestart-up Heiq Aeoniq LLC, which is developing the cellulose fabric Heiq Aeoniq. In 2023, the fiber was first used in the company's textiles.[76]
In order to meet increased demands, the Group invested 100 million euros in a new distribution building at theBonlanden-Filderstadt site nearStuttgart in the same year. The investments were in digitalization and automation, and robotics applications.[77][78]
In June 2023, Hugo Boss opened theHugo Boss Digital Campus inGondomar, Portugal.[79]
In December 2024, the Frasers Group increased its stake of directly held shares in the company to 19.25%, after already announcing in a mandatory filing in August that it had raised its share to more than 15%.[80]
Since 2017, Hugo Boss has pursued a two-brand strategy, with the core brandBoss (stylized as BOSS) for upscale business and leisure wear andHugo (stylized as HUGO) for a young target group.[66][82][83] The company has additional licensing agreements withCoty,C.W.F.,Movado andSafilo for product collaborations.[84][85][86][87]
Hugo Boss is active in the following segments:
Products are manufactured in a variety of locations, including the company's own production sites in:Metzingen,Germany;Morrovalle, Italy;Radom,Poland;İzmir,Turkey; andCleveland,United States.[103]
Hugo Boss has invested in technology for itsmade-to-measure program, using machines for almost alltailoring traditionally done by hand.[104]
In 2020, Hugo Boss created its first vegan men's suit, using all non-animal materials, dyes, and chemicals.[105]
The Hugo Boss shares have been included in theMDAX since March 1999.[106] Until June 2012, theshare capital was divided intocommon andpreferred stock. On June 15, 2012, after the close of trading, the preference shares were converted into ordinary shares and all shares were converted intoregistered shares.[107] Since then, the company's share capital has consisted of around 70.4 million no-par value registered ordinary shares.[108] In 2023, a promissory bill loan with a total value of€175 million was placed for the first time.[109]
As of February 2025, the shareholder structure was as follows:[110]
As early as the 1980s, Hugo Boss began with product placements and the outfitting ofcelebrities. Among other things, Hugo Boss outfitted the actors of the popularUS law seriesL.A. Law and was henceforth seen as the outfitter ofyuppies.[111] Hugo Boss dressed the leading actorsDon Johnson andPhilip Michael Thomas in the crime seriesMiami Vice.[23] Other well-known personalities woreBoss outfits at the time, such asMichael Jackson, who wore a whiteBoss suit on the album cover ofThriller,[112] orSylvester Stallone, who wore aBoss sweater asRocky.[113][114]
From 1996 to 2022, Hugo Boss AG sponsored theHugo Boss Prize, an annual $100,000 stipend in modern arts, awarded by theSolomon R. Guggenheim Foundation every two years as a cultural sponsor, and supported international contemporaryexhibitions.[115] In collaboration with theStaatliche Modeschule Stuttgart, the company has presented theHugo Boss Fashion Award to fashion students since 1987.[116]
In February 2024, a fashion collection designed by supermodelNaomi Campbell was introduced.[117] In March of the same year, Hugo Boss became the official outfitter of tennis playerTaylor Fritz, with Fritz wearing Hugo Boss both on the court and during public appearances.[118] In May, the company announced a multi-year partnership with former football playerDavid Beckham, who will design and curate his own collections as part of the collaboration.[119]
Since September 2024, Hugo Boss has been the official partner and outfitter of German football clubVfB Stuttgart.[120]
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British comedian and actorRussell Brand was a guest at the 2013 GQ awards, which were sponsored by Hugo Boss. After receiving an award on stage, Brand proceeded to talk about Hugo Boss's Nazi connection and did agoose step. He was later ejected from the ceremony.[121] He subsequently apologized.[citation needed]
In March 2010, Hugo Boss was boycotted by actorDanny Glover for the company's plans to close the plant inBrooklyn, Ohio, US after 375 employees of the Workers United Union reportedly rejected the Hugo Boss proposal to cut the workers' hourly wage 36% from $13 an hour to $8.30. After an initial statement by CFO Andreas Stockert saying the company had a responsibility to shareholders and would move suit manufacturing from the US to other facilities in Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania,[122] the company capitulated to the boycott and cancelled the project. Renewed plans to close the plant in April 2015 also failed.[123][124]
In September 2015, Hugo Boss (UK) was fined £1.2 million in relation to the death in June 2013 of a child who died four days after suffering fatal head injuries at its store inBicester, Oxfordshire.[125] The four-year-old boy had been injured when a steel-framed fitting-room mirror weighing 120 kilograms (260 lb) fell on him.Oxford Crown Court had earlier been told that it had "negligently been left free-standing without any fixings"[125] and the coroner had said that the death was an "accident waiting to happen".[126] In June 2015, Hugo Boss (UK) had admitted its breach of both theHealth and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 andManagement of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242).[127] The company's legal representative said:
"The consequence of this failing is as awful as one could reasonably imagine. Since the day of the accident Hugo Boss has done all it can, first to acknowledge those failings, to express genuine, heartfelt remorse and also demonstrate a determination to put things right and ensure there cannot be a repeat of what went wrong."
— Jonathan Laidlaw QC (representing Hugo Boss)[127]
In August 2019, Hugo Boss sent acease and desist letter, objecting to the trademark application ofBoss Brewing, a small brewery based inSwansea,[128] costing the brewery nearly £10,000 in legal fees and compelling them to change the name of several beer brands. Similarly, in November 2023, it was reported that Hugo Boss had sent a cease and desist letter toCanadian fitness company Boss Athletics Inc.[129] In February 2020, professedly as a protest, comedianJoe Lycett changed his legal name to Hugo Boss.[130]
In 2020, Hugo Boss toldNBC News it did not use cotton from theXinjiang area ofChina to avoidUyghur forced labor.[131] However, in 2021, the Chinese subsidiary of Hugo Boss stated on its officialSina Weibo account that they had been using cotton from the region and would continue to do so:[132]
"Xinjiang's long-stapled cotton is one of the best in the world. We believe top quality raw materials will definitely show its value. We will continue to purchase and support Xinjiang cotton."[133]
The statement was later edited to simply saying they have partners "in various regions of China" with a link to an English-language page on their website, which in turn linked to another statement containing the following words: "Hugo Boss has not procured any goods originating in the Xinjiang region from direct suppliers."[134] Initially attracting thousands oflikes, the edited Weibo post received many comments accusing the brand ofhypocrisy.[135][136] A company spokeswoman stated that the original Weibo post was unauthorized and that the company's position has not changed.[137] According to the company's official statement, all materials are only sourced from suppliers that comply with the Hugo Boss Supplier Code of Conduct.[134]
In September 2021, theEuropean Center for Constitutional and Human Rights filed a complaint with German prosecutors accusing Hugo Boss of abetting and profiting from forced labor in Xinjiang.[138] In 2022, researchers fromNordhausen University of Applied Sciences identified cotton from Xinjiang in Hugo Boss shirts.[139]
In the field of sports sponsorships, Hugo Boss has been active inmotorsport,golf,association football,sailing,tennis, andwinter sports.[140][141][142] The company's activities began in the 1970s with the support of racing driverJochen Mass,[143] and were further expanded in motorsport through the sponsorship of theMcLaren Formula 1 team from 1981 to 2014,[144] one of the longest partnerships in motorsport.[29][145] This led to several drivers being outfitted with Hugo Boss clothing, includingAlain Prost,Ayrton Senna, andNiki Lauda.[146] Boss has been the official clothing partner of theAston Martin F1 team since July 2022. One year later, Boss also appointed Aston Martin driverFernando Alonso as a brand ambassador.[147] In 2024, Boss signed a partnership withDavid Beckham.[148][149][150] At 2022, the brand signed some important new contracts, and landed on the tennis planet, such as withMatteo Berrettini[151]
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