AMIDST a sea of French and Italian luxury maisons, Hugo Boss stands out as one of the rare internationally acclaimed European fashion brands to originate from Germany. Named after its founder, Hugo Boss is a comparatively young European brand, having started its business in 1924. Its pedigree has served it well — Hugo Boss has emerged as a dynamic and youthful fashion label that is able to find a common ground between proper, old-fashioned standards of tailoring and a very fashion-forward sense of style.
Hugo Ferdinand Boss began his small tailoring shop in the town of Metzingen with six sewing machines. When he died in 1948, his son-in-law Eugen Holy progressively expanded the company, taking in orders for men's suits and catering to customers searching for quality tailoring. In 1960, the first ready-to-wear suits for men were produced, laying the foundation for the company's future direction. In 1969, Holy's sons Jochen and Uwe took over the company and gradually reshaped it into the international fashion group it is now.
Today, Hugo Boss is one the most successful menswear brands in the world and a major player in markets like the US and China. One of the earliest Western menswear brands to penetrate the Chinese market, the company is celebrating its 30th year in the world's most populous nation, commonly regarded as Asia's economic powerhouse. "Today, China is our third largest market behind Germany, of course, and the US," says Dr Gerrit Ruetzel, president and CEO of Hugo Boss Asia-Pacific. "The Chinese market is very important to us and that fact won't change. The Chinese travel so much more now and they are the biggest spenders in Southeast Asia by far. So, we believe that as we develop the market here and cultivate new customers, markets elsewhere in the region will also stand to benefit."
China is now home to 86 Hugo Boss stores, which provide the brand's full range of products such as menswear across all categories, accessories like leather goods and mobile phones, fragrances, a children's range as well as a growing women's collection, which Ruetzel says has the largest growth potential for the brand by far.
Expanding its women's collection is one of the many plans the company has in place to remain relevant in China, the luxury market that industry insiders say may not always be this buoyant. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, experts say growth in China is expected to continue but at a moderate pace as it grapples with a slowing economy and growing competition. The days when luxury companies experienced 40% to 50% growth rates in China could be over, but Hugo Boss has long realised this.
"There are new brands entering the market all the time and we have to keep innovating to stay on top," Ruetzel says. "The last 20 years in China have been dominated by European brands; American brands have been 'very sleepy' and a bit late. But they are waking up now so the competition is really going to intensify." However, Hugo Boss is well prepared. The company has signed acclaimed actor Chow Yun-Fat — one of the most respected personalities in Chinese cinema — as its ambassador. Chow has been known to be careful about lending his name to any endorsement deals. Thus, Ruetzel is especially proud of this new development.
"I know for a fact that Chow Yun-Fat gets calls every week from brands to sign him on," he says proudly. "It wasn't easy to get the conversation even started with him. In fact, the only reason his wife came for the first meeting was because he actually likes the Hugo Boss brand — he would never front a brand he didn't personally like or believe in." Chow is the face of the BOSS Selection range, Hugo Boss' ultra premium line. It also includes a made-to-measure segment that will be introduced in Asia next year.
"I think BOSS Selection works especially well in China because you have a lot of millionaires who are very young and who made their millions from Internet ventures and so on. So they could wear a suit from an Italian brand but it would make them look like their fathers or grandfathers. BOSS Selection is really just for them and their sense of style, something they can say is theirs alone," Ruetzel says. "Even though BOSS Selection is our most luxurious brand, it's still youthful."
He believes the same rule will apply to the Southeast Asian market that will also see the introduction of the BOSS Selection range, and later, the made-to-measure segment. As excited as he is about the way the brand is developing in China, Ruetzel is also keen on other parts of the region. "One of the markets in which we are growing very fast is Indonesia," he notes.
"Not just in Jakarta but there is potential in places like Bandung and Bali as well." Hugo Boss is the first global menswear brand to enter the Vietnamese market, and that too in Hanoi instead of the more obvious choice of Ho Chi Minh City. "Hanoi is like Beijing, which is where the administrative centre is," he explains. "People working for the government are traditionally big spenders and they have to wear suits a lot, so we hope to tap into this market."
Ruetzel also reveals that Hugo Boss is already looking at possibilities in Cambodia while considering a second boutique in Malaysia. "We are an innovative brand that does things differently," he smiles. "Being independent and innovative is part of our DNA, so you will see that spirit in our collections and in the way we do business. It's just what we are as a brand."
This story appeared in The Edge on Aug 6, 2012.