Hugo Boss:

Hugo Boss AG is a German fashion and lifestyle house based in Metzingen that specializes in high-end mens- and womenswear. It is named after its founder, Hugo Ferdinand Boss (1885–1948).

Today

Worldwide, Hugo Boss currently has more than 6,100 points of sale in 110 countries. Hugo Boss AG owns around 330 retail stores with over 1,000 stores and shops owned by franchisees.

There are two core brands which can be differentiated from within the company, firstly there is 'Boss' with various lines and then there is 'Hugo'. These brands are shown below:

- Boss Black Menswear (launched in early 1970s)/ Womenswear (launched in 2000)
- Boss Orange Menswear (launched in 1999)/ Womenswear (launched in 2005)
- Boss Selection Menswear (launched in 2003)
- Boss Green Menswear (relaunched in 2003)
- Hugo Menswear (launched in 1993)/ Womenswear (launched in 1998)

The main line Boss Black includes fashion ranges for both business and social events. Boss Orange mainly offers fashion for leisurely pursuits. Boss Selection is the premium label and offers sophisticated design. Boss Green is the golf-oriented sport collection and Hugo is the trendsetting line with avant-garde styles.

Additionally Hugo Boss offers licensed products such as fragrances, cosmetics, watches and eyewear. Since 2008, Hugo Boss has had an agreement with Samsung Electronics to develop cell phones and related accessories and Hugo Boss has also launched a children’s fashion collection under the Boss brand; produced and sold by a license partner.^[1]

[edit] History

Hugo Boss started his clothing company in 1924 in Metzingen, where it is still based, a small town south of Stuttgart. However, due to the economic climate in Germany at the time Boss was forced into bankruptcy in 1930. Undeterred, Hugo set up a new business and in 1931 became a member of the Nazi party. With the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, Boss's business also began to prosper as he became an RZM-licensed (official) supplier of uniforms to the SA, SS, Hitler Youth, NSKK and other Party organizations.

With the defeat of Germany in 1945, Boss was charged with being sympathetic to the Nazi cause and using forced labor, and was denied the right to vote in Germany and ordered to pay a fine. He died in 1948 but his business survived.

In 1985 the company was floated on the stock exchange and the majority shareholder is now the Marzotto textile group. In the same year Hugo Boss launched its first fragrance.