(HUGO BOSS Headquarter in Metzingen)
The HUGO BOSS Group and its brands
HUGO BOSS is growing
For many years now, the Group has ranked among the global market leaders in superior fashions – and been progressively extending this position.
Today the fashion group generates sales of 1.5 billion EUR with a workforce of more than 8,400. Flanking highly developed product competence and excellent logistics as cornerstones of this continuing success is a global marketing network powered by a comprehensive knowledge of markets and consumers in over 100 countries.
Further indicators of the Group’s strength are the high number (over 1,000) of HUGO BOSS Stores operating worldwide, and the more than 5,700 other partner POS venues. Consistent, innovative visual merchandising and efficiently implemented marketing measures serve to reinforce the image of both the Group and its brands.
The BOSS and HUGO brands cover all the major fashion segments for men and women. Additional product groups such as shoes and accessories, fragrances, eyewear, and watches complement the individual collections. This broadbased and wellstructured platform enables HUGO BOSS to offer each of its target groups the fitting outfit for every occasion.
Brand Overview
The strengths initially generated by the substantial and sustained success of the BOSS brand – first introduced as a classical men’s businesswear line in the 1970s – have been extended to a range of other fashion segments.
Today the BOSS image is transported by four independent and distinctively positioned lines targeting various needs.
The menswear collections are focused in BOSS Black on elegant businesswear, with BOSS Orange providing up-to-date casualwear and the BOSS Green collection offering performance sportswear. Those who demand exceptional materials, craftsmanship and exclusivity will appreciate the luxurious tailored fashions of BOSS Selection.
At the same time, the womenswear segment has been expanding both systematically and successfully. The refined looks of BOSS Black and the hip, creative fashions of BOSS Orange are now available for women as well.
The HUGO brand, launched in 1993, adds unconventional accents and uniquely different styles. The line has included womenswear since the end of the 1990s.
BOSS Black
The womens- and menswear collections in the BOSS Black line offer versatile fashion ranges with a rich array of elegant “modern classics” in business-, leisure- and formalwear: perfect looks that satisfy the most sophisticated tastes.
BOSS Selection
Positioned in the upper market segment, the luxurious BOSS Selection menswear line represents the premium world in the BOSS brand universe. Here, hallmark design is melded with exquisite materials and outstanding craftsmanship to produce the finest quality fashions.
BOSS Orange
BOSS Orange offers casual collections for men and women who enjoy dressing in style and wearing surprising looks. Unusual materials, bold colors and beautiful details appeal to a clientele that delights in experimentation.
BOSS Green
The BOSS Green line offers active, fashion-oriented men a sportswear collection of the finest quality.
HUGO
HUGO delivers innovative looks for men and women with a young, upbeat attitude. The collections feature body-hugging silhouettes and up-to-the-minute styles.
Accessories
For the past several years, a broad selection of innovative lifestyle products has complemented the HUGO BOSS fashions.
The segment Shoes & Accessories has featured most prominently and represents considerable growth potential for the company. This product group was therefore integrated into the Group in 2004 and has been progressively expanded since.
All of the HUGO BOSS lines are rounded out by contemporary leather collections. These include shoes, small leather goods, bags and luggage – all keyed to the latest fashion trends and thus ideal for coordinated accessorizing.
The year 2005 marked the opening of initial stores devoted exclusively to accessories, and the response to these pilot venues – in Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam – was very encouraging. Their specially developed design concept has since been implemented at 13 additional POS.
Licensing agreements are in place for the three product groups Fragrances and Cosmetics, Eyewear and Watches. To this end we partner with established players that rank among the market leaders in their segments.
The Fragrance and Cosmetics segment has been evolving dynamically for several years, with our brands’ fragrances consistently numbering among the top sellers worldwide.
Stores & Shops
Fashion is an international, visual and emotional lifestyle phenomenon. HUGO BOSS pays tribute to this global character by implementing internationally standardized shop concepts that offer customers a holistic brand experience. The Stores & Shops serve as windows to the brand worlds of HUGO BOSS, showcasing impactful visual merchandising in an optimum setting.
The distinctive image of HUGO BOSS at the more than 5,700 POS around the world is forged by the Group’s own architects, merchandising teams and marketing services. Their unique shop design concepts ensure the innovative and exclusive presentation of our product.
Parallel to its successful cooperation with selected franchise partners and superior fashion retailers, HUGO BOSS is increasingly leveraging directly operated stores. In 2006 alone, 65 additional such venues were opened, putting the total at 210 worldwide.
Drawing from many years of experience gathered via its subsidiaries in the international core markets, the Group has thus been able to accumulate its own extensive retail expertise – facilitating fast and flexible responses to changes in the markets.
Corporate Offices & Sites
HUGO BOSS is consistently growing. During 2006, its workforce rose from 7,584 to a total of 8,441, of which 2,104 men and women hold positions in Germany. To meet the increasing demand for space, a new building was opened at corporate headquarters in Metzingen.
Constructed of glass, fairfaced concrete and exposed steel, the cube-shaped complex contains 420 state-of-the-art workplaces, a staff restaurant and a fitness studio, along with showroom and event space; the total area measures about 20,000 m² (some 215,000 sq. ft.). The puristic architectonic design generates powerful contrasts with the leafy atrium courtyards and an interior decor featuring fine woods and leather furnishings.
The new corporate offices in Coldrerio, Switzerland, have proven yet another architectural highlight. For HUGO BOSS, star architect Matteo Thun created an organically styled structure whose facade melds with the environment.
Some 350 employees are currently working at the Coldrerio site, which manages the global supplier network and has substantially optimized the Group’s production processes.
Around the world, HUGO BOSS is represented by its own subsidiaries, production facilities, sourcing offices and distribution centers. All of these communicate the HUGO BOSS image – through strategic locations in the world’s greatest cities, impactful architecture, and the consistent corporate identity they embody.
Production & Distribution
The design of the collections and the development of groundbreaking production technologies both occur at corporate headquarters in Metzingen. Here, for each of the year’s four seasons, our creative teams design the fashions that capture the contemporary zeitgeist.
With their twin spearheads comprising a Creative Director and a Brand Director, the teams incorporate modern brand strategies into the collections’ creative design, meeting global market needs with fashion expertise.
To optimize the subsequent production processes and ensure efficient logistics between the production sites, the Group maintains several sourcing offices and distribution hubs around the world. Automated, cutting-edge warehousing and materials handling systems facilitate exceptional merchandise flow management throughout the process chain.
A globally networked infrastructure ensures a smooth supply line to retailers. During the year’s various delivery windows, our retail partners receive seasonally coordinated collection pieces that allow them to react promptly and flexibly to their customers’ needs.
Integrated IT systems assist this process at all the HUGO BOSS warehousing and distribution centers. We are therefore able to accurately predefine the delivery dates for entire merchandise programs and supply our retailers just in time – a unique phenomenon in the fashion industry that allows us to keep pace with today’s demands and further cement our market leadership.
Arts Sponsorship
Arts sponsorship has become a fixture among the Group’s activities, both inside the company and in the public arena. The main focus lies on contemporary art, for it conveys an esthetic, innovative spirit and modern mind set in the same visual and emotional way as do the HUGO BOSS brands.
We sponsor exhibitions and events at numerous leading museums around the world, assisting both established artists and promising newcomers in the process.
In 2006 the HUGO BOSS PRIZE celebrated its tenth anniversary. In partnership with the Guggenheim Museum, this prize is awarded every two years to innovative, up-and-coming artists, and today ranks among the most prestigious accolades in the realm of contemporary art. The HUGO BOSS PRIZE 2006 was awarded to the British artist Tacita Dean.
Held at New York’s Guggenheim Museum, the presentation gala is always a highlight for the art world, with artists, curators, collectors and celebrity art aficionados such as Dustin Hoffman and Dennis Hopper in attendance.
Sports Sponsorship
For decades, HUGO BOSS has been shaping the world of sports with its active sponsorship of exclusive partners. Premium sports such as sailing, golf and Formula One racing – all of which ideally embody the BOSS brand qualities of dynamism, cosmopolitanism and success – are standard features of the portfolio.
The Group partners with leading teams such as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Chelsea, top individual athletes including Wladimir Klitschko, and global organizations like the International Tennis Federation.
The year 2006 marked a major milestone in the longstanding success story of the Group’s partnership with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. The two organizations celebrated the association’s 25th anniversary with a glamorous fashion event in an unusual setting: Germany’s Hockenheim Formula One racetrack.
This event showpieced the presentation of the BOSS Black und BOSS Orange Mens- and Womenswear for summer 2007 by 50 international models. Over 1,300 guests were invited to immerse themselves in the unique world of HUGO BOSS and Formula One racing.
Social Responsibility
HUGO BOSS is fully committed to its responsibilities as an international organization.
As a global player, it is one of our top priorities to offer employment and production conditions that satisfy universally accepted standards. For this reason our social policies expressly address the importance of fair wages and health & safety at work, and explicitly prohibit child labor.
The Group operates its own state-of-the-art production facilities in Germany, Turkey, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the United States, all of which offer outstanding employment conditions – ranging from the equipment provided at the workplace and the training opportunities for personnel through to the various sports and leisure programs.
For their part, our suppliers sign contracts undertaking to meet all statutory requirements and observe the HUGO BOSS social standards. Their compliance is monitored and, in the event of proven violations, our contracts entitle us to discontinue relations with the party involved. Moreover, we are actively cooperating with suppliers at many sites to refine and improve social standards.
Beyond this, the HUGO BOSS Group is engaged in charitable work around the world. Within our partnership with UNICEF, the projects supported include “Schools for Africa”; here we have set ourselves the target of helping to open numerous schools on the continent every single year. In addition to the UNICEF commitment, we sponsor various other regional and international projects, ranging from funding cancer research through to providing major donations of materials and equipment to children in South America. These activities are regularly initiated by the Group and energetically supported by its employees.
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