‘Rejuvenated’ Hugo Boss reaches record sales

Hugo Boss is raising expectations after a record quarter: never before have its sales been so high. The German fashion brand has tried to rejuvenate itself, which is clearly paying off.

Appealing to youth

The German brand, best known for its suits, has recently been focusing more heavily on young people and more ‘casual’ clothing. As a result, the show during Milan Fashion Week had a big following on social media. Sales of its women’s collections are also growing faster.

All of this helped third quarter sales rise 18 % to 933 million euros, the highest in the company’s history. There was a double-digit growth in all parts of the world, but Asia performed particularly strongly as it bounced back after the pandemic: the region accounted for 33 % more sales. Physical sales also increased by a quarter compared to pre-pandemic 2019. EBIT climbed 8 % to 92 million euros.

Still too cautious

Hugo Boss is therefore raising its full-year outlook: the company is now counting on 30 % more sales and an operating profit growth of 45 % compared to last year. Still, investors and analysts at Bloomberg think that forecast is too cautious, especially given the strong third quarter.

Just last week, British retail group Frasers announced it was increasing its stake in the German brand. The retail holding company owned by controversial business figure Mike Ashley (also owner of Sports Direct, among others) now has a stake of just under a third in Hugo Boss.