Hugo Boss lifts outlook on strong Q2

Hugo Boss sales increased by 20 percent currency-adjusted and 17 percent in group currency to 1,026 million euros in the second quarter.

The company said in a release that revenues exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 52 percent currency-adjusted. The company’s operating profit (EBIT) increased 21 percent to 121 million euros.

On the back of these strong results, Hugo Boss has raised its top and bottom-line expectations for fiscal year 2023 following the former guidance increase in May.

“After our highly dynamic start to the year, we continued our strong performance also in the second quarter. Momentum once again exceeded our own high expectations, despite the overall challenging and uncertain market environment,” said Daniel Grieder, chief executive officer of Hugo Boss.

Hugo Boss posts sales increase across both the brands

Currency-adjusted revenues for Boss menswear were up 18 percent year over year, while revenues for Boss womenswear even expanded by 32 percent. At Hugo, currency-adjusted sales were up 21 percent.

While the Group’s business in EMEA and the Americas continued to benefit from both robust local consumer demand and a pick-up in tourist business, Asia/Pacific recorded growth in the second quarter. Sales in EMEA increased by 15 percent currency-adjusted in the three-month period driven by double-digit improvements in key European markets such as Germany, up 19 percent and France 15 percent, while momentum remained equally strong in the Middle East.

Also in the Americas, the company continued its double-digit growth trajectory with currency-adjusted sales up 20 percent, reflecting double-digit increases across all of the region’s markets. The important U.S. market posted a noticeable increase of 16 percent currency-adjusted, with all consumer touchpoints contributing to growth.

In Asia/Pacific, currency-adjusted revenues came in 41 percent above the prior-year level. This performance was driven by both sustained double-digit growth in South East Asia & Pacific as well as a further recovery in the business in China following the market’s reopening in late 2022. Currency-adjusted revenues in China increased by 56 percent year over year.

Momentum in digital business accelerates growth at Hugo Boss

Momentum in the group’s digital business further accelerated during the quarter, with revenues up 30 percent currency-adjusted compared to the prior-year level. This performance reflects double-digit improvements across all digital touchpoints, including the group’s digital flagship Hugoboss.com as well as digital revenues generated with partners.

Also in brick-and-mortar retail, revenues were up 17 percent compared to the prior year. The company said, while additional selling space only had a minor impact on brick-and-mortar retail growth, the vast majority of the strong performance was related to further store productivity improvements in the second quarter.

In brick-and-mortar wholesale, revenues also increased by 17 percent currency-adjusted, reflecting ongoing strong reception of the latest Boss and Hugo collections among wholesale partners around the globe.

The company increased its EBIT in the second quarter, up 21 percent to 121 million euros and EBIT margin increased 40 basis points to 11.8 percent.

Hugo Boss raises outlook for full-year 2023

On the back of the strong financial performance in the second quarter, the company once again raises its top- and bottom-line outlook for the current fiscal year. The company now forecasts group sales in fiscal year 2023 to increase between 12 percent and 15 percent to 4.1 billion euros and 4.2 billion euros .

At the same time, EBIT is now expected to increase between 20 percent and 25 percent to a level of between 400 million euros and 420 million euros in 2023.

By 2025, Hugo Boss is confident of generating revenues of 5 billion euros and EBIT of at least 600 million euros, representing an EBIT margin of at least 12 percent.