The desire to buy has returned with the Corona easing and, after H&M and the Zara mother Inditex, is also giving the German fashion label Hugo Boss more confidence. The new CEO Daniel Grieder dared to make a forecast for 2021 for the first time – and is now expecting a return to profitability. “The recovery in business was clearly noticeable in all regions,” said the former Tommy Hilfiger boss. Revenues in Europe more than doubled in the second quarter and more than quintupled in America, and in Asia they increased by over 50 percent. Boss is thus approaching the pre-crisis level.
This also gave investors new confidence: The Hugo Boss share peaked on Wednesday by more than six percent to 53 euros and was thus not listed as high since September 2019. In October 2020, the titles were still trading at around 19 euros, the pandemic had hit the fashion company hard, the share had fallen significantly. The current news has the potential to surprise, commented analysts from Baader.
Grieder is aiming for a currency-adjusted increase in consolidated sales of 30 to 35 percent in 2021, compared to just under two billion euros in the previous year. The operating result should reach between 125 and 175 million euros. In 2020 there was a loss of 236 million euros due to the branch closings to contain the corona pandemic. In the second quarter, according to initial calculations, revenues increased by 133 percent to 629 million euros. The fashion manufacturer, who became famous with its men’s suits, put the profit at 42 million euros after a loss of 250 million euros a year ago. H&M and Inditex are also on the road to recovery and posted leaps in sales in the second quarter.
Last year it looked very bad for Boss: Hardly any business appointments or trips, empty offices, no parties or big celebrations – suits, shirts and dresses from the fashion company from Metzingen on the Swabian Alb were hardly in demand. Hugo Boss made just under 20 percent of sales last year with the sale of classic men’s suits, although the company once grew up as an outfitter for office workers. In the lockdown and in the home office, customers mostly wore jeans, sweatpants, T-shirts and hoodies – but this is where other brands are more successful than Boss. In addition, Hugo Boss also lacks the affluent tourists who have always enjoyed shopping in the shops. Grieder has been running the group since June, the Swiss man who had previously made Hilfiger big and successful.