consumer sentiment

Other German clothing brands and retailers may be struggling, predicting a fall in consumer sentiment and potentially raising prices in an inflationary economy. But German formalwear expert Hugo Boss continues to be optimistic. The marquee brand raised guidance after executives described as a “record” second quarter. Hugo Boss’ brand refresh and marketing campaigns helped to send sales up 34 percent, currency adjusted, during the second quarter of this year to 878 million euros.

The company, best known for its men’s formalwear, had seen sales plummet during the pandemic as events were canceled and consumers worked from home. In the middle of 2021, Hugo Boss started with a new chief executive officer, Daniel Grieder, and a new business strategy.

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“It’s been one year since we introduced our new growth strategy,” Hugo Boss’ chief financial officer Yves Mueller told journalists during an online press conference. “We were convinced it was the right strategy at the right time. But even so, we’ve been surprised at how fast we are progressing.”

First-half sales gained 42 percent to hit 1.65 billion euros and thanks to the positive results, Hugo Boss raised its guidance for the full year.

Previously, the company thought it might see sales growth of between 10 and 15 percent. Now, it said, it expected between 20 and 25 percent growth, bringing in between 3.3 billion and 3.5 billion euros over the whole year.

“We realize that this kind of prognosis is unusual at this time,” Mueller conceded, acknowledging that consumer sentiment was depressed and that a recession in Europe and America was a clear possibility. “We have taken macroeconomic factors and the uncertain business environment into account,” he told WWD. “We are confident when it comes to the second half of 2022 and despite the difficult market