Hugo Boss Cuts Full Year Sales Guidance over Weaker Demand in China, UK

FILE PHOTO: Mens clothing are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mens clothing are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
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Hugo Boss Cuts Full Year Sales Guidance over Weaker Demand in China, UK

FILE PHOTO: Mens clothing are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Mens clothing are on display at the Boss store in London, Britain, May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Chris J. Ratcliffe/File Photo

German fashion house Hugo Boss on Monday cut its sales guidance for the year to a range of between 4.20 billion euros ($4.58 billion) to 4.35 billion euros over weakening global consumer demand especially in markets like China and the UK.
The company earlier expected sales for the year at around 4.30 billion to 4.45 billion euros.
Hugo Boss said that it expects operating profit (EBIT) to be around 350 million euros to 430 million euros, down from its previously communicated guidance of around 430 million euros to 475 million euros.
This is the second time this year that Hugo Boss has cut its sales guidance.
The company had previously also flagged in its first quarter results weaker demand in China and concerns about the US consumer sentiment ahead of presidential elections, causing shares to slump to their lowest since 2022.
The German fashion house also said that its preliminary second-quarter sales declined by 1% to 1.02 billion euros. Its operating profit (EBIT) in the period amounted to 70 million euros on a preliminary basis.
The premium apparel brand has been on an expansion mission, and has been increasing marketing spend and opening 102 new points of sale in 2023, but its shares have fallen this year as it warned of slower sales growth.
World's biggest watchmaker Swatch reported a steep drop in first half sales and earnings earlier on Monday as demand for luxury goods in China remained weak, Burberry also issued a profit warning and scrapped its dividend payment for the year as well.



Burberry Axes CEO and Dividend, Warns on Profit

A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
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Burberry Axes CEO and Dividend, Warns on Profit

A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
A person walks past a Burberry store undergoing refurbishment on New Bond Street in London, Britain, March 11, 2023. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

British luxury group Burberry named former Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as its new chief executive on Monday, axing Jonathan Akeroyd after two years as it warned on profit and scrapped its dividend.
A slow down in the luxury sector has hit Burberry harder than rival brands, derailing the 168 year-old British name at a time when it had been trying to move upmarket, and triggering the latest change at the top of the company, Reuters said.
For the 13 weeks to June 29, underlying sales slumped 21% as the company said weakness in its market deepened. It warned that on current trends it would miss forecasts for annual profit and it would scrap this year's dividend to invest in growth.
Burberry has been in turnaround mode for sometime, and under a number of different bosses. Designer Riccardo Tisci exited in 2022 after less than five years. Akeroyd's predecessor left after four years.
"This is a kitchen sink exercise par excellence, and underscores the enormity of the challenge facing Burberry in a world where Chinese sales can no longer be taken for granted," Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG said.
Schulman was CEO of US brand Michael Kors from 2021-2022 and before that brand president at Coach.
While some higher end luxury brands like Hermes and Prada have proved to be more resilient, Burberry has struggled.
Shoppers in the United States and Europe have grown more cautious as the cost of living has risen, while appetite in China has been deflated by a property crisis and record youth unemployment.
Burberry said on Monday it would switch its offer back to be "more familiar" to its "core customers", with a marketing campaign for outerwear to launch in October. Its last collection departed from its classic camel, red and black check print in favor of bold colors.
It said it expected to see an improvement in its second half, and would also find cost savings.
Shares in Burberry have lost 57% of their value over the last 12 months, underpeforming Britain's bluechip index which is up 13%.