Leveraging brand potential in womenswear

Clear brand proposition provides basis for future growth

The Group considers its BOSS core brand in particular to offer a good chance to meet womens’ needs for timelessly modern fashion statements and thus to strengthen its position in womenswear. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Jason Wu it is building on its core skills in high-quality tailoring to design sophisticated and desirable products combined with a feminine aesthetic that express unpretentious luxury. In this connection, the focus is on apparel. In addition to their commercial importance, shoes and accessories play an important role in sharpening the brand’s core and forging closer links between the individual collections. BOSS attaches great importance to diverse wearing opportunities to address all the needs in the life of a modern woman. Based on its core strength in modern businesswear, the brand is accordingly developing attractive offerings in luxury leisurewear, to appeal to customers who apply the same standards of quality and sophistication to the clothing they wear in their leisure time. Beyond the BOSS core brand, HUGO and BOSS Orange also feature womenswear matching their respective brand positioning.

Sales womenswear (in EUR million)

Own retail floor space for womenswear growing

The continued growth in 2015 is strengthening the Group in its decision to selectively increase the visibility of the womenswear range in its own retail stores. In accordance with its overall strategy, it is concentrating on the BOSS core brand and has significantly increased its share of the own retail floor space compared with the other brand lines. In particular, womenswear is being given a more prominent position in new or extended stores, which tend to be larger. In these stores, womenswear often occupies around one-third of the total shop floor. At the end of 2015, customers were able to purchase HUGO BOSS womenswear from 300 of the Group’s own retail stores. With the use of global look concepts, great importance is being attached to standardized presentation worldwide. In addition, intensive training for sales personnel reflects the exceptional importance of quality of service in this segment in particular. The development of a special store concept also aims to optimally address female customers’ needs.

Communications activities boost brand awareness

Finally, HUGO BOSS has stepped up its communications activities to enhance awareness of its brand in the womenswear market and to position BOSS Woman as an attractive proposition for fashion-conscious female consumers. For example, the brand collections are presented twice a year at the New York Fashion Week. Print campaigns, predominantly placed in premium fashion magazines, and PR activities also help to communicate the unique core of the brand and to establish BOSS as a fashion authority.

Above-average growth expected

HUGO BOSS assumes that by implementing this strategy it will be able to increase the share of sales contributed by womenswear to at least 15% by 2020 (2015: 11%). This means that HUGO BOSS will further strengthen its share of the womenswear market, which is substantially smaller than the Company’s menswear share.