Hugo Boss to discontinue Baldessarini

Hugo Boss AG has announced it intends to discontinue production of its small, luxury clothing brand Baldessarini. The German fashion retailer said it would stop the production and sale of the label after the Spring/Summer 2007 collections had been delivered to stores. Baldessarini fragrances, the production of which is licensed to Procter & Gamble, will not be affected by Hugo Boss's move.

"Baldessarini is too small for our current business structure," said Hugo Boss spokesman Philipp Wolff. Baldessarini was named after the label's former CEO, Werner Balderssarini, who founded it in 1993 and resigned in 2002, handing over the reigns to pr esent boss, Bruno Saelzer. In late 2003, Hugo Boss established a Baldessarini branch in Munich where it could manage the brand independently from the rest of the company, which is based in Metzingen.