The story of Hugo Boss. From workwear production to one of the most famous fashion brands - the story of Hugo Boss

Hugo Ferdinand Boss (it. Hugo ferdinand boss; July 8, 1885, Metzingen - August 9, 1948, Metzingen) - founder of the German fashion company "Hugo Boss".

Biography

Hugo Boss was born on 8 July 1885 in Metzingen, Baden-Württemberg. He studied at a folk school (it. Volksschule) and until 1899 attended the Real School (German. Realschule). For three years he studied merchant business in Bad Urach.

In 1902 Boss went to work in a weaving mill in Metzingen. After completing military service from 1903 to 1905, he worked at a weaving factory in Constanta.

In 1908, after the death of Hugo's parents, Boss took over their textile shop in Metzingen. In the same year, he married Anna Katharina Freisinger (German. Anna Katharina Freysinger). From this marriage was born a daughter, Gertrude (German. Gertrud), who in 1931 married a sales agent Eugen Holi (German. Eugen holy).

In 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, Hugo Boss left with the rank of Chief Corporal (German. Obergefreiter) to the front and in the same rank left the army in 1918. In 1923 he founded a small garment factory in Metzingen for the production of workwear and sportswear.

In 1930, the factory was threatened with bankruptcy. On April 1, 1931, Hugo Boss joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party (member number 508889) and thereby saved his company, having received a party order for the production of uniforms for the SA, SS and Hitler Youth.

Historian Roman Köster, author of the study “Hugo Boss, 1924–1945. A clothing factory between the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich, "published in 2011, writes:" According to all available sources, the firm had nothing to do with uniform design. "

In 1934, Boss bought a weaving factory and moved sewing workshops to its territory. In 1937, Hugo Boss employed almost a hundred people. With the outbreak of World War II, his factory was declared an important military enterprise and received an order for the manufacture of a Wehrmacht uniform. In the period from 1940 to 1945. the factory employed 140 forced laborers - mainly from Poland and Ukraine, as well as 40 French prisoners of war.

After World War II, Boss quickly switched to producing work clothes for railroad workers and postmen.

During the denazification, he was recognized as an accomplice of the Nazis, deprived of voting rights and sentenced to a fine of 80,000 marks. Paying the fine, he unsuccessfully tried to regain the right to vote.

Hugo Ferdinand Boss died on August 9, 1948 at the age of 63. After his death, the management of the company passed into the hands of his son-in-law Eugen Holi.

The history of the Hugo Boss empire itself is unique. Hugo Boss(Hugo boss) arrived in the German town of Metzingen and bought a small factory for the production of men's clothing there. Moreover, mainly working: blue overalls, cleaning robes, raincoats and various other uniforms.

In his dreams, a modest textile worker from Germany could not imagine what his small enterprise for sewing overalls and a soldier's uniform awaits in the future. The company that he created in 1923 did not even have a name, and its products did not yet have a label that is famous today. Hugo boss... Hugo Boss died in 1948, leaving the business to relatives. They established the production of not only uniforms, but also men's casual wear.

At that time, Italian manufacturers were the undisputed leader in men's clothing in the post-war years. And in the early 70s the grandchildren of the founder of the company - brothers Uwe and Johan Holi created a suit that became a sensation in the fashion world.

Hugo's grandchildren Uwe and Johan Hawley were able to put the business on a solid foundation. It was they who approved the name of the grandfather as the name of the company - it smelled of solidity, it was well read and easy to pronounce in almost all languages \u200b\u200b- and began, step by step, to assert the authority of the company in the international arena and increase sales.

Today Hugo bossis one of the most influential companies in the fashion world with an annual turnover of approximately $ 1.67 billion. Like most famous fashion houses, BOSS is today owned by one of the financial giants - Gruppo Marzottodirected by Pietro Mardzotto. Bruno Seltzer is now the head of the concern, he determines the policy of the company and the direction of its development.

The main designer of the House was Werner Baldessarini(Baldessarini). He formed a special style that attracts politicians, Hollywood stars, and ordinary modern men. In suits from Hugo bossonly high-quality, expensive Italian-made fabrics are used, and the quality is guaranteed by hundreds of special technologists who control the process at all factories of the fashion brand.

Clothes, shoes and accessories from Hugo bossare not limited to any one style. They allow the man to change along with the demands of the times. For example, in the 80s, costumes made in the so-called authoritarian style were very popular. These were double-breasted jackets with huge shoulder pads that shaped an athletic figure. However, the aggressiveness of this silhouette in the House Hugo bosssoftened with soft fabrics and tight leather ties.

The modern man will find clothes for all occasions. There's a clothing line here Black lablefor respectable business people, as well Orange lablewhich is considered to be the style of weekend wear casual. Exquisite luxury clothing is presented by the line Baldessarini, and sportswear by the line Green lablefor golfers.

For many decades, working only with men's clothing and becoming the undoubted leader in this field, Hugo Bosswith the beginning of the new century, he decided to expand his field of activity. This is how the first collection appeared in 2000 Boss Woman, addressed to respectable business ladies and quickly became popular. And now the Fashion House is thinking about releasing a line of clothing for children in the age category from 2 to 12 years old.

Brand now Hugo bossknown all over the world. The company's clothing is sold in 103 countries of the world, in more than 5,000 stores. The brand offers different clothing for different people: classic, conservative, casual, sportswear, premium clothing.

The company is one of the main buyers of fabrics from Italian manufacturers. Hugo bosstook its rightful place among the gallery stores Bosco di Ciliegi.The boutique features high quality products obtained directly from the manufacturer. Presented Black Lable, Orange Lable, new line Selection, Boss Woman... The store always presents the latest men's and women's collections. The wide assortment of the store allows the presentation of fashionable themes for each season and includes various price categories.

The site's columnist has studied the history of Hugo Boss, which began as a manufacturer of workwear for workers and soldiers' uniforms, was accused of supporting the Nazis and went a long way from a German manufacturer to a world famous brand. Now the company is going through a difficult period, but it has already announced a strategy for further development.

Hugo Boss clothing and accessories are known all over the world. The brand, recognized today, gained mixed fame in the middle of the 20th century for fulfilling contracts for Nazi Germany. At that time, for Hugo Boss, this was the only way to stay in business, but society has a long memory, and the decisions of the founder managed to negatively affect the company's reputation. Despite this, Hugo Boss has achieved success on the global stage and is deservedly considered one of the most successful in its industry.

Hugo Boss headquarters in Metzingen

Biography of Hugo Boss. Company establishment

The founder of the famous brand Hugo Boss was born in 1885 in the German city of Metzingen. His parents were petty bourgeois and, according to one of the versions, owned a small textile store, and according to the other - their own manufactory. The boss received a good education at that time - a public school, and then a real school.

Then he studied trade, but after graduation, he did not immediately take up it. Boss's first place of work was a weaving factory, where he was a simple weaver. There he worked for about a year and in 1903 went to serve in the army.

In 1905 he returned to civilian life and continued to work, but already at a factory in Constanta. Here Boss worked for three years, after which he inherited the business of his parents. There is little information about his life between 1908-1914.

Sources are unanimous in one thing - the Boss got married, but they prefer to remain silent about how his business developed and what his financial condition was. After the outbreak of the First World War, the entrepreneur was mobilized. The Boss was not remembered for any special military exploits.

After the war, he returned to business and in 1923 opened his own small manufactory in Metzingen, where he produced work clothes, raincoats and uniforms for soldiers. The niche was chosen correctly, given the low price of the factory's products and the general poverty of the population.

However, despite the presence of clients, the success of Boss's business is at times questioned. The main argument was that in 1930 he almost closed production. In a dire state of affairs after World War I, Germany was not uncommon for bankruptcy.

Hugo Boss

Trying to save his own business, Boss made a decision that everyone remembers to this day - in 1931 he joined the NSDAP. It is believed that the entrepreneur was immediately promised to provide an order for brown shirts, popular with party members and Nazi supporters. However, some German historians do not exclude that the views of this party were close to Boss.

Soon after joining the NSDAP, the businessman really received large orders, including for uniforms for the SS and other formations of the Nazis like the Hitler Youth. In 1933, things went even better when Hitler became Reich Chancellor. From that point on, Boss had a steady stream of government contracts. He made good money and at the same time officially helped his homeland.

Already in 1934, the entrepreneur had enough money to buy a large factory. It is worth mentioning the various rumors circulating about Boss and his company. Despite the various versions, most sources agree that he was not the designer of the SS uniform, although it was produced in his factory.

Despite the fact that one of the reasons was the expansion of the company's distribution network, this was hardly pleasing to the management. In addition, Boss Woman sales fell 24%. However, there were reasons for optimism. The company's network of own and franchised stores reached 581. Sales in the European market grew by 3%.

In the next two years, the situation began to improve, which affected the financial performance. So, in 2002, the profit was about € 74.7 million, and in 2003 this figure increased to € 82.4 million. The change in the situation did not cancel the existing problems, including the problems of Boss Woman.

Zeltser, focused on reducing costs and increasing performance, decided to relaunch the line in 2004. He closed the project and started from scratch with a new team, moving production from Italy to Germany. The successful restart led to a 16.5% increase in sales for this product line. The company's total profit was € 88 million.

The company's financial performance continued to grow steadily both domestically and internationally. For example, in 2005, the situation in Germany was not the best, but sales of Hugo Boss increased by 9% in six months, while the overall market in this country decreased by 2%.

Sales in Europe during that period rose by 12%, in the USA - by 15%. By the end of the year, profits had grown to € 108.2 million, which clearly indicated the right course was chosen. By the way, in the same year, the company launched the Boss Skin line of men's skin care products.

At the same time, Hugo Boss entered into an agreement with the Swiss watch manufacturer Movado Group. Based on the agreement, she received exclusive rights to manufacture and sell watches under the brands Hugo and Boss.

In addition, the number of the company's brands has expanded. They were joined in 2004 by Hugo Green, which manufactures clothing for golf lovers. In 2005, Hugo Orange was launched into the weekend wear business.

Along the way, Zeltser began to get rid of unnecessary brands in his opinion. First of all, it was about Baldessarini. The latter was the favorite brainchild of Zeltser's predecessor, but his financial performance and prospects did not bode well. The brand had sales of only € 18.8 million in 2004 and it still remained small despite its exclusivity and publicity. In addition, due to manual work, production was long and costly.

The company managed to launch a similar brand Boss Selection, the prospects of which were estimated much higher, despite similar financial indicators. As a result, at the beginning of 2006, it became known about plans to close Baldessarini, but they were never fully implemented. The fact is that Baldessarini bought this brand from Hugo Boss and independently took up its development.

In addition to all these changes, in 2007 the development of Hugo Boss was influenced by a change of owners. Back in 2002, the Marzotto Group received Valentino. She then merged all of her assets into the Valentino Group. In 2007, the Permira Group acquired this business from Marzotto.

Up to this point, despite the presence of the parent company, there was almost no interference in the affairs of Hugo Boss, but the new owners had their own views on the leadership of the brand. Seltser did not find common ground with them and, according to rumors, did not agree with the proposed sales strategy. It all ended in 2008 with Zeltser's announcement of his own free will.

Only by his departure, the change in management was not limited, and until 2009 several more board members left the company. Rumor has it that the disagreement reached such a level that it almost provoked a strike by the leadership. Instead, top managers left their jobs and received large payments due to them. This, in turn, is considered one of the reasons for the 2008 profit reduction by 27% to € 112 million.

The new head of the company is Klaus-Dietrich Lars, who previously headed the fashion house Dior. Despite the fact that Hugo Boss was quite successful, at the time of his arrival, the change in leadership and the global crisis had a negative impact on the company.

Lars tried to solve the problems that had arisen by way of more active expansion to Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the countries of Asia - which caused particular optimism, because already in 2008, China showed an increase in turnover by 24%.

Klaus-Dietrich Lars

The company has sometimes grappled with problems with standard measures such as cutting costs, reducing production costs, purchasing only from large suppliers, and cutting staff.

The latter cannot be called too radical - just a man. Moreover, in 2009, the company employed about nine thousand people. Despite the problems, Lars remained optimistic, and in 2010 even told the public about his own strategy for the further development of the brand.

First of all, it was about increasing the company's sales from € 1.56 to € 2.5 billion. Lars was going to do this by optimizing the time elapsed between the end of the development of the collection and sending it to production and sale. The timing was planned to be reduced by 12 weeks.

Lars was not going to stop there and considered the right step to expand the company's distribution network to 700 stores. In this case, emerging markets and, in particular, China were to play an important role. His optimistic forecasts were partly confirmed by sales figures in 2010 and 2011, which reached € 1.7 billion, respectively. and € 2 billion.

Hugo Boss Central Store in Tokyo

In 2012, the company's retail network expanded to 840 stores worldwide, exceeding previously announced plans. Despite the growth, the financial performance was not as good as expected, although sales reached € 2.35 billion, slightly below its earlier target. Lars' success allowed him to renew his contract with Hugo Boss, and he became one of the few heads of the brand to achieve this.

In 2013, Lars named China, Brazil and Russia as promising markets for the brand. At the same time, in Russia, as in China, the head of Hugo Boss considered online trade to be the key, arguing that the size of the country does not allow the company to open its own stores in every city. It is worth mentioning here that Hugo Boss in Russia still relied more on the sale of the franchise. In addition, an ambitious new target was set to increase sales to € 3 billion.

In 2015, the strong growth of Hugo Boss and the pursuit of increased sales ended in financial difficulties. In addition to a decline in profits from € 334 million to € 319 million, sales in the US and China fell significantly. At the same time, the indicator still increased compared to 2014 to € 2.8 billion, largely due to the European market.

After the announcement of the results, the company's shares fell in value by 20%. Interestingly, in 2015, the owner of the Permina Group company finally got rid of his stake in Hugo Boss. He started doing this back in 2014, and at the moment, just over 90% of Hugo Boss shares are in free float.

Due to poor financial performance, Klaus-Dietrich Lars left his post. This was followed by the departure of several more top managers, including the head of Hugo Boss in the United States, Gerrit Rützel.

The new head of the company was its former CFO Mark Langer. Under his leadership, a new development plan for Hugo Boss was developed. The company intends to abandon the focus on exclusively luxury goods and switch to cheaper premium products. The management decided to focus on the release of the two brands Boss and Hugo, the difference in cost between them will be 30%.

Mark Langer

The attitude of the company to the expansion of its own distribution network, which comprises about 1,100 stores, will also undergo a change. In 2016, a partial reduction in China began. Changes were also made to the operation of the chain in the United States - it became known that Hugo Boss will take control of stores in Macy's Inc.

In addition, a greater focus on online sales has been officially announced. The new strategy, based on forecasts, will have an impact on the pricing of Hugo Boss in different regions of the world. For example, in Europe the cost of the company's products will increase, while in Asia it will decrease. Most of the planned innovations will take effect only in 2018. The date was not chosen by chance - according to forecasts, during this period, Hugo Boss will again begin to increase its revenue.

Hugo Boss certainly has a rich history, some of which still provoke mixed reactions from the public. The difficulties that appeared in 2015 are not the first for the company, and therefore it is unlikely that their solution will require superb efforts from the management. Even with the challenges, Hugo Boss is firmly established and continues to delight its customers with new collections.

The history of the black label Boss Hugo Boss is not quite typical: as a rule, the founder of the famous brand makes a significant contribution to the development of fashion and the company gets a name by his name during his lifetime. However, in the case of Hugo Boss, this is not at all the case.

In 1923, Hugo Boss founded a company in the small German town of Metzingen. In the 1920s, he created overalls, protective clothing, raincoats and uniforms for soldiers and workers, sometimes even without giving his name, and the suits that made the brand famous began to be produced only in 1953, several years after the death of Hugo himself. (It is also said that, fighting hardship during the Second World War, Hugo Boss made uniforms for the German army, but this is just what they say.)

In the following decades, the company experienced ups and downs, and it was not until the 1970s that Uwe and Johan Hawley, already Hugo's grandchildren, were able to put the business on a solid foundation. It was they who approved the name of their grandfather as the name of the company - it smelled of solidity, it was well read and easy to pronounce in almost all languages \u200b\u200b- and began, step by step, to assert the authority of the company in the international arena and increase sales.

A successful and decisive PR move by Hugo Boss was the creation of clothes for the film Rocky-4 with Sylvester Stallone in the title role about sixteen years ago. Note that later Hugo Boss once again used this move and provided clothes for the heroes of the popular American TV series Miami Police.

Today, the German company Hugo Boss is one of the most influential in the fashion world and has an annual turnover of about one and a half billion dollars a year. The brand is represented in more than 100 countries within the extensive HUGO BOSS distribution network, which includes 250 BOSS branded stores. Thanks to the active work of HUGO BOSS in various fields, this name has become a symbol of well-being, a modern perception of life, and a lifestyle. The firm provides about 200 tuxedos for the Academy Awards every year. World famous Hollywood stars prefer HUGO BOSS to other brands of menswear. The most famous men in the world such as Antonio Banderas, John Travolta and Brad Pitt are regular customers of the Boss Hugo Boss brand. The Hugo Boss man is active, focused and focused on success, in addition to this, he is also confident in himself, impeccable in taste, and keeps up with the times.

Since 1995, HUGO BOSS has been actively supporting the renowned Guggenheim network of contemporary art museums in 4 cities around the world. Formula 1 fans and golf enthusiasts will know for sure that HUGO BOSS is one of the sponsors of these elite sports. We add that the leading Formula 1 pilots Michael Schumacher, Miko Hakkinen and David Coulthard, famous tennis players Stefan Edberg and Thomas Muster, as well as one of the most famous golfers in the world, Phil Micholsen, make up most of their wardrobe from HUGO BOSS models.

Like most famous fashion houses, Hugo Boss is now owned by one of the financial giants - Gruppo Marzotto SpA, run by Pietro Marzotto. From a brand of menswear, once associated with classic suits of the perfect cut, BOSS HUGO BOSS has reincarnated into a brand of high-end clothing, in which traditional classics, clothing for leisure and social events harmoniously coexist, the Black main label is the BOSS brand HUGO BOSS for successful businessmen, top managers, politicians, Hugo HUGO BOSS is a red label for advanced informal youth, the Baldessarini HUGO BOSS brand is for sophisticated customers, the clothes of this brand are sewn by hand. All these brands make HUGO BOSS a trendsetter in the international arena. Also in the near future you will be able to see the stunningly bright collection of the orange label of the Boss Sport Hugo Boss brand - this brand is presented for people who love an active lifestyle.

All clothing models are made exclusively from expensive materials, since 80% of materials for Hugo Boss are made by the most famous weaving factories, such as: "Biella" - Italy, "Torella Viera" - it produces structural fabrics, "Cerruti" - this factory is based in 1981 in Biella, and supplies Hugo Boss with elegant and refined fabrics. "Piocensa" allows the company to sew very cozy clothes from real cashmere, "Solbiatti" - this factory is the king of linen and cotton fabrics, "Laura Piani" - provides Hugo Boss with classic and fashionable fabrics such as stretch. And, by the way, one more interesting fact: if, when buying a jacket, you find a brand with the name of a weaving factory on your inner pocket, then know that this model is sewn only from high quality and expensive fabric.

As for the skin, here you will be no less surprised too. Leather for the signature Boss Hugo Boss jackets is made only in England and Germany. At the same time, lambs are specially raised in the Alpine meadows, after which only those animals are selected that have the least amount of fat under the skin - this contributes to further skin elasticity. One long jacket requires 4 to 6 lambs!

Today HUGO BOSS is one of the most famous brands of menswear in the world. With a wide range of products tailored to individual needs, the HUGO BOSS brand guarantees high quality products with a distinctive and recognizable design and an attractive ratio. Price quality. To ensure an appropriate presentation of its products, HUGO BOSS sells them exclusively in carefully selected exclusive stores as well as BOSS branded stores. Quality and design, innovation and creativity are the driving forces of the company.

Hugo Boss is a popular German company that produces clothes mainly in classic style. This is necessarily a strict image and clear lines, because the main clients are leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs who need clothes that represent the status of its owner. In addition, the brand's elite perfumes and accessories are also popular. But the company went to this success for almost 100 years, starting with the sewing of protective clothing and soldiers' uniforms.

Brand history

The history of the company goes back to 1923 when Hugo Boss opens a tailor shop in Metzingen (Germany) where the family works. The atelier grows into a small factory, but the enterprise cannot survive the crisis, and Hugo Boss joins the Nazi party and receives large orders for sewing uniforms for military personnel. Prisoners of war work in his factories. But after the end of the war, the businessman was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and imposed a gigantic fine.

Hugo Boss dies in 1948 and the children and grandchildren who took in their hands turned the company towards the world of haute couture, gradually transforming the brand into a global brand. The perfume line is launched. The Fashion House is founded.

In 1993 Valentino Fashion Group bought the company. There are global changes in the brand structure. There are lines designed for different target audiences. This is the timeless classic "Black Lable" for young men, the youth direction "Orange Lable" for a casual weekend, and luxury clothing "Baldessarini" elegant, expensive clothing for the financial and political elite.

In 2000, a women's business line and a casual line were launched, and later a children's line. A large project of luxury accessories enters the market. These are glasses of the luxury segment, production of watches in cooperation with a Swiss company, men's cosmetics, women's jewelry, together with Swarovski.

In 2009, the company begins production of a mobile phone Samsung Hugo Boss.
Hugo Boss brand products is an indicator of the excellent taste and elegance of its owner. The company is active in the community, this name has become a lifestyle, a symbol of well-being. Therefore, it is not surprising that the company is currently generating revenues of about $ 1.5 billion. The number of employees in the company has exceeded 9000 people.

Exceptionally expensive materials are used for sewing models of clothes, because they are made at the most highly rated factories in the world. Leather for the Boss Hugo Boss line is made only in Germany and England from lambs raised in the Alpine meadows and passed the most meticulous test for the absence of fat under the skin.