Hugo Boss Lifts Outlook as Brand Revamp Drives Market Expansion

FILE PHOTO: The logo of German fashion company Hugo Boss is seen at a store in Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2016.  REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of German fashion company Hugo Boss is seen at a store in Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
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Hugo Boss Lifts Outlook as Brand Revamp Drives Market Expansion

FILE PHOTO: The logo of German fashion company Hugo Boss is seen at a store in Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2016.  REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logo of German fashion company Hugo Boss is seen at a store in Vienna, Austria, November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

German fashion house Hugo Boss on Wednesday raised its full-year outlook after reporting a double-digit jump in second-quarter sales, driven by market share gains thanks to its recent brand revamp and marketing push.

The company expects its annual sales to grow between 12% and 15% and reach 4.1 billion to 4.2 billion euros ($4.5-4.6 billion), compared with its previous forecast for about 10% growth to 4 billion euros, Reuters reported.

It expects 2023 operating profit to grow between 20% and 25% to a level of 400 million to 420 million euros, versus its prior range of 10% to 20%.

Hugo Boss's 2022 brand revamp has helped the luxury group stay resilient in the slowing US and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) markets while boosting sales in Asia, despite a sector-wide sluggish recovery in China.

Quarterly sales rose 20% to 1.03 billion euros on a currency-adjusted basis, from 878 million a year earlier. This was aided by worldwide market share gains for both its brands, Boss and Hugo, especially among younger consumers, the group said.

The sales were broadly in line with analysts' estimate of 1.0 billion euros in a poll provided by the company.

Shares of Hugo Boss were seen up 2.1% in Lang & Schwarz premarket indications.



Dr Martens Slips into the Red; Says Festive Season Off to a Good Start

FILE PHOTO: People enter in a Dr. Martens store in Manchester, Britain, May 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People enter in a Dr. Martens store in Manchester, Britain, May 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo
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Dr Martens Slips into the Red; Says Festive Season Off to a Good Start

FILE PHOTO: People enter in a Dr. Martens store in Manchester, Britain, May 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: People enter in a Dr. Martens store in Manchester, Britain, May 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff/File Photo

Dr Martens said on Thursday that the autumn-winter festive season had got off to an encouraging start after the struggling bootmaker swung to a first-half pretax loss on weak demand in the United States, its biggest market.
Its shares, which have lost about a quarter of their value so far this year, rose 16% in early trade, Reuters reported.
The British company, whose chunky lace-up boots popularly known as "Docs" or "DMs" were originally made for workers before becoming a fashion statement in the 1960s, has been contending with a weak North American market and is betting on the festive season to shore up its sales and profit.
Dr Martens expects to make cost savings of about 25 million pounds ($31.64 million) in its fiscal year to end-March, 2026 with around two-thirds of that coming from job cuts.
The company reported a pretax loss of 28.7 million pounds for the six months ended Sept. 29, compared with a profit of 25.8 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue dropped 18% to 325 million pounds.
To halt the decline in profit at a time when consumers are shying away from pricy items such as the brand's $170 classic boots, Dr Martens has sought to cut costs while also increasing spending on US marketing.
"Our new marketing campaigns are showing encouraging early signs, with strong sales of new product, giving us confidence that we will return USA (direct-to-consumer) to positive growth in the second half," outgoing CEO Kenny Wilson said in a statement.
Wilson, who announced in April that he would step down, will be replaced by Chief Brand Officer Ije Nwokorie on Jan. 6, the company confirmed on Thursday.
It maintained its fiscal 2025 outlook of a single-digit percentage year-on-year revenue drop, with a worst-case scenario of pretax profit at around one-third of the previous year's.