About the Hugo Boss company and brand. Hugo Boss - brand history Brand Hugo Boss

We have heard a lot about the quality of German cars and technology, but the phrase "German fashion" sounds somewhat contradictory. Despite everything, one of the clearest examples of the fact that classics can be fashionable, successful and popular is the German brand Hugo Boss.

Hugo Ferdinand Boss was born in 1885 in Metzingen, Germany. He received a technical secondary special education, and also studied trading. Hugo worked for several years in weaving mills and in 1908, after the death of his parents, inherited a textile shop. The same year for the young entrepreneur was marked by marriage to Anna Katharina Freisinger. Soon the newlyweds had a daughter, Gertrude.

Long before classic Boss suits: uniforms

By 1923, Hugo had opened a small factory out of the shop he had inherited and gradually expanded it, producing uniforms for postmen, policemen and workers. Two years later, the company was overtaken by difficult financial times and the owner began to expand production, offering clothing in new directions; such as hunting clothing. The boss took out a loan to buy new equipment, some of the workers agreed to a reduction in wages, but this did not improve the situation.

1931 was a difficult year not only for Hugo Boss: the crisis in the country forced many entrepreneurs to curtail their business. At that moment, Hugo made a rather controversial decision today, which allowed his company to stay afloat and survive in difficult times: Boss became a member of the National Socialist Party of Germany, which allowed his company to fulfill orders for the production of uniforms for the CC, CA, Hitler Youth. It is claimed that Hugo Boss himself was not involved in the development and design of uniforms and regalia; this work was done by Karl Diebitsch.

From 1932 to 1945, the Hugo Boss factory almost completely dresses the German army, from ordinary soldiers to officers of the Wehrmacht. During the Second World War, his enterprise was declared an important military enterprise. The factory employed more than 150 forced laborers from Eastern Europe and France.

No voting rights, no founder

1946 opened the next difficult period in the history of Hugo Boss: the Third Reich fell, the ideas of fascism were declared criminal and all the enterprises that collaborated with them fell into disgrace. This fate did not spare Hugo and he paid a large fine of 80,000 marks at that time, and was also deprived of the right to vote.

Hugo Boss died two years later, and his son-in-law Yogen Holy took over his production. Hugo Boss has started making railroad and police uniforms again.

Hugo Boss' first men's suit

In 1953, Hugo Boss first decided to release a classic men's suit. Gradually, the brand is moving away from the mass market and moving towards High Fashion. In 1967 the company passes to the founder's grandsons Johann and Uwe. Thanks to them, Hugo Boss has become a world famous brand.

In the 70s, Hugo Boss expanded and developed into Germany's largest menswear manufacturer and an influential fashion house with chief designer Werner Baldessarini. Hugo Boss sponsored golf and tennis championships, Formula 1 races. In 1984, the first fragrance from Hugo Boss appears.

Italian temperament and German restraint

The next leap in the development of Hugo Boss was the acquisition of the brand by the Italian Marzotto SpA, which today is the Fashion Group. The heirs of the founder of the brand no longer have any connection with the firm, and it is led by Peter Littman. He singled out several lines focused on different consumer audiences:
Classic Line Boss
Hugo youth line
Baldessarini luxury line

Combining a classic base with fashion trends, Hugo Boss has won a lot of fans.

2000s

The beginning of the 21st century proved to be more than eventful for Hugo Boss. The brand launched a women's clothing line. He was again accused of collaborating with the Nazis and allocated a large amount to the fund for supporting the victims of the criminal regime. A children's line was launched, as well as lines of men's cosmetics and optics. Together with Swarovski, Hugo Boss launched the production of women's jewelry and accessories. Together with Samsung, a mobile phone was released.

Hugo Boss today

The Hugo Boss brand has expanded its lines and today is represented as follows:

Premium clothing and accessories BOSS Black Label
Men's luxury clothing and accessories BOSS Selection
Modern Sportswear BOSS Green
Practical casual clothing and accessories BOSS Orange
Avant-garde clothing and accessories HUGO

More than 40 men's and women's fragrances are produced by Hugo Boss in collaboration with Procter & Gamble.

Probably, the phrase "German fashion" may seem somewhat unusual to someone, but there is a brand in the world that refutes this skepticism. This is Hugo Boss, one of the best-known and most prestigious brands that has succeeded in a very difficult and capricious field of ready-to-wear production, that is, ready-to-wear clothing made on the basis of the current season's trends. Throughout its history, the firm has known many dramatic twists and turns, and each time some outstanding personality played a role in overcoming problems, using an unusual marketing technique.

Founder

Biographers of Hugo Boss differ on some points in his life story, but judging by the indisputable information, it can be concluded that he:

• Born in Metzingen in 1885 in a middle-class bourgeois family.
• He graduated from school, a vocational school and received a special education in the trade sector.
• He worked as a weaver, then served in the Reichswehr (1902-1905), and after demobilization he again became a simple worker, and he was until his parents died.
• Having inherited the family business, he married.
• From 1914 to 1918 he was again in the army, but did not perform any special feats at the front.

Perhaps some details of the biography are of historical interest, however, since they are not directly related to business, we can assume that the above is quite enough. Hugo Boss opened his own business in the same native Metzingen in 1923, already at the mature age of 38. He most likely did not shine with any outstanding talents.

own business

The direction in which Herr Boss decided to succeed should objectively be recognized as promising. The uniform for Schutzmanns, firefighters, postmen and other civil servants, in theory, should always be in demand. People can buy these dresses and suits or not, and the police will certainly be dressed by the authorities - this is what Hugo thought when he opened a clothing production. Probably, there were still some miscalculations in the business plan, or the general economic situation in the country turned out to be worse than predicted, but by the end of the decade, Boss's company was quite seriously threatened with bankruptcy. Germany paid monstrous reparations, and even state institutions did not have enough money. Historians point to the dedication of the workers who agreed to the price cuts, but it is likely that they did not quit, not out of any special devotion to their employer, but simply because they had nowhere to go. Unemployment beat all records. This is where an interesting story happened.

Membership in the NSDAP

It was only in 1997 that the management of the Hugo Boss brand formally recognized the obvious fact of the company's cooperation with the Nazi leadership of Germany. Actually, there would be nothing special about this - not a single German brand that survived World War II retained a clean reputation. The point is different. Hugo Boss joined the NSDAP two years before Hitler came to power, and even sewed brown shirts for stormtroopers. It is quite possible that the ideas of National Socialism seemed close to the founder of the enterprise (at that time, many “bought” beautiful words). On the other hand, the Nazis paid money that was not at all superfluous for a bankrupt company. The debate over whether Hugo Boss was a committed fascist, or simply pretended to be one for commercial reasons, has not subsided to this day.

Karl Dibich, designer

Hugo Boss was not a fashion designer, he had no experience in designing clothes, and his company sewed mostly uniforms that did not require particularly sophisticated approaches. When in 1934 the company received an order to develop the uniforms of SS officers, Karl Dibich got down to business, who managed to create a unique sample of its kind, combining the peculiar aesthetics characteristic of the III Reich. The form made a frightening impression. In war conditions, however, black tunics, richly decorated with runes and skulls, proved to be impractical, and besides, they attracted the increased attention of enemy snipers. In addition to the SS uniforms, the company produced other uniforms. There were also rumors that the Boss was dressing the Nazi leadership, including the Fuhrer, but there is no documentary evidence of this. A lot of soldier's clothing was required, and it was produced by all the sewing enterprises in Germany.

post-war period

In 1945, Hugo Boss was fined 80,000 marks and disenfranchised, mainly for exploiting forced labor. Slaves driven from the occupied territories to work in Germany (French, Poles and citizens of the USSR) were kept in hellish conditions. However, the businessman who found himself in the zone of responsibility of the Western allies was not subjected to serious repressions and continued his business. In 1948, Hugo Boss died at the age of 63, leaving the company to his son-in-law. Under the leadership of Eugen Holy, the company continued to sew the same railway and postman uniforms with which it all began. This continued until 1967.

Uwe and Jonen Holy

The Hugo Boss brand was created by the grandchildren of Hugo Boss. Prior to this, a timid attempt to sew men's "civilian" suits was made by their father Eugen Holy in 1953, and this product was probably of good quality, but did not bring success. Having become heirs, the brothers decided to radically change their business strategy. They divided the responsibilities according to the classical scheme: Uwe became technical director, taking on managerial functions, and Jonen took up design and collections, as well as marketing and advertising. This approach paid off - the turnover grew to 3.5 million Bundesmarks, and the suits sold very well, but only in Germany. Some kind of "chip" was required.

Hugo Boss (rus. Hugo Boss) is a German fashion company. The brand was founded in Germany in 1923. The main shareholder of the company is the Italian Valentino Fashion Group, which owns 50.9% of the shares.

Brand Hugo Boss

About company

Hugo Boss is a popular German company that produces clothes mainly in a classic style. This is necessarily a strict image and clear lines, because the main clients are leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs who need clothes that represent the status of its owner. In addition, the elite perfumes and accessories produced by the brand are a success. But the company went to this success for almost 100 years, starting with the sewing of protective clothing and soldier's uniforms.

Brand history

The history of the company goes back to 1923 when Hugo Boss opens a workwear tailoring shop in Metzingen (Germany) where the family works. The atelier grows into a small factory, but the company cannot survive the crisis, and Hugo Boss joins the Nazi party and receives large orders for sewing uniforms for military personnel. POWs work in his factories. But after the end of the war, the entrepreneur was accused of collaborating with the Nazis and was given a huge fine.

Hugo Boss dies in 1948 and the children and grandchildren who took over turned the company towards the world of high fashion, gradually turning the brand into a global brand. The perfume line is launched. The fashion house is founded.

In 1993, the company was bought by the Valentino Fashion Group. There are global changes in the structure of the brand. There are lines designed for different target audiences. These are the timeless classics Black Lable for young men, the youth trend Orange Lable for a casual weekend, and luxury clothing Baldessarini elegant, expensive clothes for the financial and political elite.

In 2000, a women's business line and a casual line are launched, and later a children's line. A large project of elite accessories enters the market. These are luxury glasses, watch production in cooperation with a Swiss company, men's cosmetics, women's jewelry, together with the company.

In 2009, the company launches mobile phone production Samsung.
Hugo Boss brand products is an indicator of the excellent taste and elegance of its owner. The company is active in public activities, this name has become a lifestyle, a symbol of well-being. Therefore, it is not surprising that the company currently generates revenues of about 1.5 billion dollars. The number of employees working in the company exceeded 9000 people.

Exclusively expensive materials are used for tailoring models of clothes, because they are made at the highest-rated factories in the world. Leather for products line "Boss Hugo Boss" is made only in Germany and England from lambs raised in the Alpine meadows and passed the most meticulous test for the absence of fat under the skin.

Company Facts

• Each year, the company produces 200 tuxedos for the Oscar ceremony.
• Since 1995, Hugo Boss has sponsored the Guggenheim Museum network in various cities and countries.
• Provides sponsorship for Formula 1 and golf competitions. Helps other elite sports.
• The main shareholder of the company is Valentino Fashion Group.
• The General Manager is Bruno Selzer.
• Products are presented in 120 countries in more than 6,000 stores.

Hugo Boss (Hugo Boss) – German company that produces luxury clothing and perfumes. Products are sold in 124 countries in more than 6,100 stores, both own and franchised.

History of the Hugo Boss brand

1885: Birth of Hugo Ferdinand Boss, creator of the brand.

1923: Hugo Boss founds a small textile company in Metzingen(Germany), located south of Stuttgart. Initially, this is a family studio, combined with a small shop. Then the business gradually gains momentum, and the enterprise becomes a garment factory that produces uniforms for workers, postmen and policemen.

1925: The company has 33 employees. A crisis is coming, and the company is trying to get out of it by releasing hunting clothes, national costumes, work overalls, rubber and leather raincoats. Hugo Boss negotiates with creditors the purchase of 6 sewing machines. Some workers accept pay cuts to keep the enterprise going.

1931: the country is in crisis, the Hugo Boss factory is on the verge of bankruptcy, and Entrepreneur joins the National Socialist Party of Germany. Orders for tailoring the uniforms of the SA, SS and Hitler Youth begin to come from her, which saves the company from ruin. However, it is not Hugo himself who creates the uniform design, but Karl Diebitsch, who designs most of the military uniforms and regalia of the Third Reich.

1932-1945: Hugo Boss is the official clothing supplier for both ordinary German soldiers and Wehrmacht and SS officers. During the Second World War, the factory is declared an important military enterprise., it employs about 150 forced laborers, primarily from Poland and Ukraine, as well as 30 French prisoners of war.

1946: the factory almost burns out again: Hugo Boss is accused of collaborating with the Nazis, fined 80,000 marks and deprived of the right to vote.

1948: Hugo Boss dies and the company is headed by his son-in-law Eugen Holy. Hugo Boss again specializes in uniforms for railroad workers and postmen.

1953: Hugo Boss launches the first men's suit. This is a turning point in the history of the company: it begins to move away from mass production of clothing and gradually approach the world.

1967: Uwe and Jochen Holy, the children of the former head of the company and the grandchildren of its founder, become the head of the company. It is they who turn the brand into a world-famous fashion brand.

1970s: Hugo Boss is growing rapidly. First, the firm becomes Germany's largest menswear manufacturer. Secondly, the company is turning into an influential fashion house.

1972: Hugo Boss sponsors Formula 1 races and championships in golf and tennis for the first time.

1975: talented ( Werner Baldessarini) begins to collaborate with Hugo Boss.

1984: launch of the brand's perfume line.

1993: the company becomes the property of the Italian holding Marzotto SpA (currently Valentino Fashion Group). The Holy brothers leave the enterprise. Peter Littman becomes the CEO of the company. He divides the brand into lines with different target audiences: Boss, offering , Hugo with bold youth models, Baldessarini with luxury products.

1996: the introduction of the Hugo Boss Award for Achievement in Contemporary Art.

1997: the company receives a license to manufacture watches together with the Swiss brand Tempus Concept.

Hugo Boss founded a firm in the small German town of Metzingen in 1923. In the 1920s, he created work overalls, protective clothing, raincoats and uniforms for soldiers and workers, sometimes without even giving his name, and the suits that made the brand famous did not begin to be produced until 1953, a few years after the death of Hugo himself.

In the decades that followed, the company experienced ups and downs, and it wasn't until the 1970s that Uwe and Johan Holy, now Hugo's grandsons, were able to put the business on a solid footing. It was they who approved the name of their grandfather as the name of the company - it exuded solidity, it was well read and easy to pronounce in almost all languages ​​- and began step by step to assert the authority of the company in the international arena and increase sales.

Hugo Boss

A successful and decisive PR move by Hugo Boss was the creation of clothes for the film Rocky 4 with Sylvester Stallone in the title role. Later, the Hugo Boss brand once again used this move and provided clothes for the heroes of the popular American TV series Miami Vice.

Today, the German company Hugo Boss is one of the most influential in the fashion world and has an annual turnover of about one and a half billion dollars a year.

The HUGO BOSS brand is represented in more than 100 countries within the extensive HUGO BOSS sales network, including 250 BOSS brand stores. Thanks to the active work of HUGO BOSS in various fields, this name has become a symbol of well-being, a modern perception of life, a lifestyle.

Each year, the firm provides about 200 tuxedos to the Oscars. Hollywood stars from around the world prefer HUGO BOSS to other brands of men's clothing. Regular customers of the Boss Hugo Boss brand are the most famous men in the world, such as Antonio Banderas, John Travolta, Brad Pitt and others.

Since 1995, HUGO BOSS has been actively supporting the well-known network of contemporary art museums Guggenheim in 4 cities around the world.

Formula 1 fans and golf enthusiasts will surely know that HUGO BOSS is one of the sponsors of these elite sports. Leading Formula 1 drivers Michael Schumacher, Miko Häkkinen and David Coulthard, renowned tennis players Stefan Edberg and Thomas Muster and one of the world's most famous golfers Phil Micholsen make up most of their wardrobes with HUGO BOSS models.

From a menswear brand once associated with classic tailored suits, HUGO BOSS BOSS has evolved into a high-end clothing brand that harmoniously coexists with traditional classics, leisure wear and social occasions.

The man Hugo Boss is active, focused and focused on success, in addition to this, he is also self-confident, impeccable in taste, and keeps up with the times.

Black main label - brand BOSS HUGO BOSS for successful businessmen, top managers, politicians.

Hugo HUGO BOSS is a red label for advanced informal youth.

And the Baldessarini HUGO BOSS brand is for sophisticated clients, the clothes of this brand are sewn by hand.

The orange label of the brand "Boss Sport Hugo Boss" is presented for people who love an active lifestyle.

All these brands make HUGO BOSS a trendsetter in the international arena. All clothing models are sewn exclusively from expensive materials, since 80% of the materials for Hugo Boss are made by the most famous weaving factories.

Leather for Boss Hugo Boss branded jackets is made only in England and Germany. At the same time, lambs are specially grown in Alpine meadows, after which only those animals are selected that have the least amount of fat under the skin - this contributes to further skin elasticity. One long jacket requires 4 to 6 lambs!

In order to ensure a proper presentation of its products, HUGO BOSS sells them exclusively in carefully selected exclusive stores as well as BOSS branded stores. Quality and design, innovation and creativity are the driving elements of the company.