They’ve doubled the marketing budget, so you’re on the scene quickly. How sustainable is your growth anyway?
If we had just doubled the marketing budget, we wouldn’t have gotten this far. But we have done much more than intelligent marketing. We have invested a lot in the product, in sales, in our stores, in digitalization and our supply chains. We have implemented our growth strategy.
Hugo Boss traditionally stands for men’s suits. Hardly anyone has worn them since the pandemic.
After the end of the pandemic, I initially had some doubts. Hardly anyone thought about buying suits while working from home. The question was: What do we do now? Only suits? There was really only one option: we had to turn Boss and Hugo into 24/7 lifestyle brands.
That means?
That doesn’t just mean suits, but also other product groups: casual trousers or sweaters, polo shirts or outdoor jackets. That was important. And at the same time, we also reinvented the suit. The flexible, wrinkle-free performance suit in which you can ride a bike, climb mountains, ride in the rain and sit on a plane for ten hours. And you still look like an A.
After the pandemic, however, the hoodie with the large “Boss” print was your bestseller.
The hoodie was actually just a marketing gimmick for our new logo that we gave to some celebrities and our employees. And then there was a run. We would never have imagined that there would be such a demand. The hoodie is the best-selling item in our company’s history. We promoted the new logo with him and showed that we don’t just offer suits, but also around-the-clock lifestyle fashion. And we reached younger customers.
As head of Tommy Hilfiger, you overtook Hugo Boss years ago. Are you now in the process of overtaking Hilfiger again as head of Hugo Boss?
I think we are on the best track. Hilfiger is a great casual brand, but we generally don’t compare ourselves. We have a significantly broader range and position ourselves between premium and the entry-level luxury segment.
Her predecessor, Claus-Dietrich Lahrs, wanted to turn Boss into a luxury brand.
Personally, I don’t believe that you can turn a premium brand into a luxury brand. Hugo Boss used to do everything right for a long time. Great product, great positioning, great advertising, good distribution and good stores. I don’t know why a lot of this was changed.