Hugo Boss Research Articles

The Legal Consequences of Passing Off Actions Involving the Registered Well-Known Trademark of Hugo Boss vs Anthony Tan

The Legal Consequences of Passing Off Actions Involving the Registered Well-Known Trademark of Hugo Boss vs Anthony Tan

Synergy of Real and Digital Worlds - Promising Insights for the Future Generations of Fashion

Digital transformation (DT) is reshaping the fashion industry, revolutionizing the way brands, retailers, and consumers interact. It is not a fad but a necessary step towards innovation and survival in today's business context. Implementing digital transformation requires a bespoke approach that addresses specific challenges and goals within the existing framework of each brand or retailer. Fashion brands are leveraging digital technologies throughout their value chain, from product design and production to marketing and distribution. Computer-aided design (CAD) software, predictive analytics, and 3D printing are streamlining the design and prototyping phases, reducing time-to market and improving product quality. Technologies like 3D body scanning, seamless garments and digitized looms are also being adopted. Brands like Hugo Boss are using smart factories that incorporate robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to increase efficiency. Moreover, digital integrated supply chain platforms, such as blockchain, are enabling faster and more efficient production by connecting brands with manufacturers and suppliers globally. The adoption of digital solutions extends to the production of futuristic textiles, digital clothing and virtual model / digital show stoppers. Retailers are also embracing DT to enhance the customer experience and expand their reach. E-commerce has become a crucial channel, allowing retailers to sell products online and reach a wider customer base. Many retailers are investing in robust online platforms and incorporating augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies to offer immersive in-store shopping experiences. Data analytics and AI are being used to personalize recommendations and offers, enhancing customer engagement and loyalty. In-store virtual assistants or kiosks are worth mentioning in light of digital clientele. Social media platforms play a vital role in the fashion industry's digital transformation. Fashion brands are partnering with social media influencers to promote their products and reach a larger audience. Additionally, collaborative consumption models are emerging through digital apps, supporting sustainability efforts such as zero waste, recycling, and sharing goods or services. Consumers are benefiting from greater convenience, choice, and personalized experiences in the digital fashion landscape. They have access to a wide array of products from around the world and can find inspiration and style ideas on social media platforms. User generated content and reviews facilitate informed purchase decisions. Mobile technology advancements have blurred the lines between online and offline retail experiences, enabling consumers to shop anytime and anywhere. Adaptability, inclusivity, diversity, authenticity and traceability of product life cycle (Blockchain) have become driving instincts of Gen Zers and Millennials at purchase points. However, traditional industry players and small independent retailers face increased competition from e-commerce giants, necessitating their adaptation to digital technologies to remain relevant. The COVID 19 pandemic has accelerated this shift and normalized the idea of going digital. This paper presents an in-depth review of how digital transformations have various players within the fashion Industry with special reference to the brands, designers and enterprises implementing these for their evolution and progression to thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Evolution of Men’s Image in Fashion Advertising: Breaking Stereotypes and Embracing Diversity

This research study explores the representation of men in fashion advertising and investigates whether societal and fashion evolution has contributed to a departure from traditional stereotypes. The research methodology comprised three phases: content analysis, surveys, and in-depth interviews with an expert panel, examining how men’s clothing has been communicated in fashion over a span of 50 years, with a focus on three renowned brands: Lacoste, Burberry, and Hugo Boss. The findings reveal a notable shift in fashion advertising targeting men, characterized by increased racial diversity among models and a more diverse depiction of attitudes and poses. However, homosexual or bisexual couples remain largely unrepresented. The study highlights the influence of advertising on shaping the image of the “new man”, evident through the diminishing gender boundaries in clothing and accessories and the persistent struggle to break free from stereotypes. The study underscores the significance of ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity in fashion advertising.

No brand can easily claim to be ‘luxury’: A case study of Hugo Boss’ brand positioning (2006–2020)

Much confusion still prevails over the distinction between the terms luxury, premium and fashion. Both academics and professionals understand them very differently. This paper delves into the relationship between positioning and business model using the framework proposed by Kapferer [Kapferer, J. N., (2016), ‘The Challenges of Luxury Branding. The Routledge Companion to Contemporary Brand Management’, Routledge, London, p. 485], which highlights how different the business models from luxury, premium and fashion are. Another trading-up brand strategies framework is presented, and a new trading-up strategy model is then proposed. To illustrate these theoretical frameworks and related strategies, the German clothing icon Hugo Boss has been chosen as a case study for its self-proclaimed positioning’s shift, over fifteen years (2006–2020), from premium to luxury and back to premium. In terms of methodology, a longitudinal study has been favoured to observe Hugo Boss’ changes of positioning over time. This paper relies on secondary data, drawn from Hugo Boss’ annual reports of the aforementioned time period, its investors’ presentations, bank analyst’s reports and business newspapers’ articles. Along three self-elaborated drivers of a trading-up strategy from premium to luxury (ie develop exclusive distribution, increase product quality and fuel marketing engine), the findings about Hugo Boss have shown that the brand only partially developed its business model along these lines, resulting in a shift, in 2016, towards a trading-down strategy back to its original positioning in premium. However, in the years until 2020, these trading-up investments have had long-lasting and significant effects on the brand performance. Additionally, further results indicated that the shareholder structure, the choice of management, the brand’s communication and the macroeconomic environment were decisive factors as well.

Science and Business Developments

Science and Business Developments

A Funky-Formal Fashion Collection: Struggling for a Creative Concept in HUGO BOSS

In this case study, we follow a group of five young talented fashion designers in HUGO BOSS charged with creating a new concept for the brand BOSS Orange. The concept is to be neither formal nor funky but, precisely, funky-formal. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among these designers, the case describes in detail how the initial idea of a funky-formal fashion collection gradually grows into a more concrete creative concept for such a collection. In particular, it shows how the designers struggle to get to know the HUGO BOSS brands, to become truly inspired, to generate a compelling concept and, finally, to make a decision between competing concepts. These processes involve not just the talented designers but also, and not least, the Creative Director of BOSS Orange, making it evident how creativity in fashion is by no means an individual idiosyncrasy but rather a social phenomenon.

Perceived diagnostics of virtual try-on technologies and attitudes toward men's suits

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of virtual try-on technologies and their perceived diagnostics on consumers' purchase intentions for men's suits using a conceptual model based on the stimulus-organism-response theory. A within-subjects research design was developed to empirically test the conceptual model and a total of 264 usable participant responses were collected. Participants were directed to a website to virtually try men's suits in different sizes, colours, fits, and designs on their personalised avatars. Perceived diagnostics from virtual try-on technologies were found to reduce consumers' perceived risks regarding product attributes and to increase purchase intentions for Hugo Boss men's suits. Therefore, we suggest that e-fashion retailers and technology developers continue to enhance and implement virtual try-on technologies and vivid 3D images in the sale of apparel. Also, men's wear companies should provide sufficient information about product attributes to strengthen perceived diagnostics through 3D technologies, thus increasing e-consumers' purchasing intentions for the apparel.

WITHDRAWN: Is HUGO still the BOSS? Investigating the reciprocal effects of brand extensions on brand personality of luxury brands

This research aims to empirically investigate positive and negative reciprocal effects of extensions on brand personality by varying levels of congruency and typicality, while controlling for the effects of motivation processing. A 2 (incongruent, congruent) × 2 (high typicality, low typicality) × 2 (high motivation, low motivation) research design was employed using two extension categories, namely watches and kidswear of the HUGO BOSS brand. The findings revealed brand personality dilution effects only. Specifically, brand personality dilution occurred in response to incongruent and congruent information. Further, contrary to schema theory, brand personality evaluations neither strictly followed the bookkeeping model in high-motivation conditions nor the subtyping model in low-motivation conditions in response to in-congruent information.

The dilemma of luxury brand extensions

ABSTRACTThe present paper focuses on luxury brand perceptions and their effect on attitude towards brand extensions whilst addressing the moderating role of hedonism. Particularly, the study discusses how hedonism affects the way luxury brand perceptions influence attitude towards upward and downward brand extensions. Two online surveys are used to review consumers’ attitude towards upward and downward extensions. Two real brand cases, the brands of Louis Vuitton and Hugo Boss, provide the context for the studies based on the perceived divergence between the marketing approaches of the brands. Louis Vuitton is considered as a more exclusive luxury brand, whereas Hugo Boss is perceived as more open to the masses, universally consumed brand. Study 1 indicates that luxury brand perceptions generate positive attitudes towards upward extensions. Hedonic consumption does not moderate the relationship between luxury brand perceptions and attitude towards upward extensions. Study 2 designates that luxury brand perceptions lead to negative attitudes towards downward extensions. Hedonic motives seem to significantly moderate this relationship. The study discussed significant implications for both academics and practitioners with respect to the role of consumers’ personal motives on the effectiveness of mass marketing strategies in the luxury brand sector.

Arts of Global Africa

Arts of Global Africa

Nurturing natural capital

Nurturing natural capital

Sewing for Hitler? The clothing industry during the ‘Third Reich’

The article deals with the history of the clothing industry during the ‘Third Reich’. It discusses the development of the industry and the room for manoeuvre by the example of three companies, Seidensticker, Hugo Boss, and Bierbaum-Proenen. The article makes the point that the Nazi’s economic policy brought about severe restraints for the clothing industry, which seems to be typical for consumer goods industries as a whole during the ‘Third Reich’.

Cross-gender extension potential of luxury brands: a semiotic analysis

Faced with the need to constantly find new growth drivers, luxury brands increasingly use cross-gender extensions (extension from the female to the male market and vice versa). Because of the lack of research on this topic, the aim of this article is to analyse the potential for cross-gender extension. We adopt a long-term perspective by analysing the discourse being directly produced by brands. We use a structural semiotic approach to define brand narratives and contracts and their level of openness. Seven luxury brands have been studied: Audemars Piguet, Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Hugo Boss, Montblanc and Rolex. The results show that they do not all have the same legitimacy for extension from the male to female market and vice versa. Specifically, in the context of cross-gender extensions, rather than brand extension potential (to new product categories), the narratives related to contracts of determination (linked to characters, gender and state) can determine the success or the failure of cross-gender extensions. We find that brands anchored in open determination contracts, i.e. those whose values are desired by both sexes (men and women), will be extended more easily from one market to another.

El uso de Twitter en las marcas de moda. Marcas de lujo frente a marcas low-cost

En este artículo se analizó comparativamente la capacidad dialógica de las marcas de moda de lujo frente a las denominadas low-cost en la red social Twitter. Para ello, se recurrió a la metodología cuantitativa y se realizó un análisis de contenido de 1135 tuits publicados por H&M, Zara, Ralph Lauren y Hugo Boss. Se observó que no existe consenso entre las organizaciones para dirigirse a sus públicos, y si bien las marcas low-cost son las que hacen un mayor esfuerzo por mantener un diálogo, las firmas de lujo reciben más interacciones.

The Impact of Supplier Reliability Tracking on Customer Demand: Model and Estimation Methodology

To set inventory service levels, suppliers must understand how changes in inventory service level affect demand. We build on prior research, which uses analytical models and laboratory experiments to study the impact of a supplier's service level on demand from retailers, by testing this relationship in the field. We analyze a field experiment at the supplier Hugo Boss to deter- mine how the supplier's inventory service level affects demand from its retailer customers. We find increases in historical fill rate to be associated with statistically significant and managerially substantial increases in current retailer orders (i.e., demand, not just sales). Specifically, a one percentage point increase in fill rate, measured over the prior year, is associated with a statistically significant 11% increase in current retailer demand, controlling for other factors that might affect retailer demand. We explore the drivers of this demand increase, including changes in retailer assortment and order frequency. We discuss features of a retail buyer's decision context identified through our field work that may explain the magnitude of the relationship we observe.

Book Review of “Business Network Transformation” by Jeffrey Word (ed)

“Business Network Transformation—Strategies to Reconfigure Your Business Relationships for Competitive Advantage” published by Jossey-Bass is the new book edited by Jeffrey Word. The book comprises 11 chapters contributed by leading scholar and industry practitioners in the area of networked businesses together with an introduction by the editor (cf. Fig. 1). The renowned authors include Marco Iansiti, Mohanbir Sawhney, John Hagel III, Henry Chesbrough, and Andrew McAfee, to name but a few. The book is a collaborative effort of these scholars to explore and analyze Business Network Transformation (BNT), a process which describes organizations transition from independent organizations to highly networked companies. In a time of accelerating business change and increasing interconnection of organizations, these business networks provide a new source of competitive advantage for companies. Driven by increased specialization, companies become better at what they do best and focus on achieving higher returns on capital. To achieve this specialization, companies extend their business networks. They not only rely on partners to take on non-core activities to funnel resources into innovative activities but also to collaborate with partners for new product/service development and new ways to enter attractive markets. To achieve this, the authors argue, companies are required to build new competencies in managing collaborative relationships with well understood process handoffs, information access, and service-level agreements; appropriate checks and balances on product quality; and visibility into risk and performance across the business network. The emerging concepts around business network transformation have been studied over the past several years from various angels. The chapters in the collection aim to cover a broad scope including what is happening to traditional value chains, how companies are impacted by the transformation, who is successfully adapting and thriving in the new environments, and where this evolution is headed. The collective assumption of the book is not the question “if” but “when” and “how powerful” organizations have to deal with BTN. Chapter one (by Philip Lay and Geoffrey Moore) sets the theme of BNT by looking at global trends of globalization, context networks (i.e., outsourcing within the value chain) and core networks (i.e., collaboration for innovation). The chapter then describes different types of networks to enable the necessary collaboration. In particular, the stress on the enabling and necessary IT systems is emphasized such as platforms, composite applications, and on-demand concepts. Chapter two (byMarco Iansiti and Ross Sullivan) continues to explore the topic by looking at how BNT is transforming companies. Five guiding principles are proposed: (1) create superior customer value, (2) design for adaptability, (3) plan for scalability, (4) encourage participation, and (5) develop government frameworks. It gives examples of BNT in action using three short case studies of Novartis, Hugo Boss, and NVIDIA. The next chapter (by Mohanbir Sawhney and Ranjay Gulati) explores customer collaboration and open innovation to satisfy increasing demand for innovative products. Here, six capabilities are necessary for success: (1) reach, (2) C. Riedl (*) Technische Universitat Munchen, Boltzmannstr. 3, 85748 Garching, Germany e-mail: riedlc@in.tum.de

The Impact of Supplier Inventory Service Level on Retailer Demand

To set inventory service levels, suppliers must understand how changes in inventory service level affect demand. We build on prior research, which uses analytical models and laboratory experiments to study the impact of a supplier’s service level on demand from retailers, by testing this relationship in the field. We analyze a field experiment at the supplier Hugo Boss to determine how the supplier’s inventory service level affects demand from its retailer customers. We find increases in historical fill rate to be associated with statistically significant and managerially substantial increases in current retailer orders (i.e., demand, not just sales). Specifically, a one percentage point increase in fill rate, measured over the prior year, is associated with a statistically significant 11% increase in current retailer demand, controlling for other factors that might affect retailer demand. We explore the drivers of this demand increase, including changes in retailer assortment and order frequency. We discuss features of a retail buyer’s decision context identified through our field work that may explain the magnitude of the relationship we observe.

Brand image inconsistencies of luxury fashion brands

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether brand perceptions differ across channel members of luxury brands using the buyer‐seller exchange situation model.Design/methodology/approachA triangulation approach was used to compare perceptions of different channel members. The data collection was completed in two stages. First, a self‐administered mail survey was sent out to 3,592 individuals from a publicly available mailing list. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 22 retailer buyers.FindingsThe findings reveal that brand perceptions differ across channel members. There appears to be a mismatch in the perceptions of wholesalers and retailers that might constitute a source of brand image inconsistencies. Although the final consumers' overall attitude toward the Hugo Boss brand is positive, consumers appear to be in favour of other brands and their inclination to purchase the Hugo Boss brand seems to be relatively low.Research limitations/implicationsThe study only examined one brand and is limited to the Australian context. Future research could examine other luxury brands in different countries. The study utilised judgement sampling, which could result in selection bias.Practical implicationsBrand knowledge is crucial to achieving brand image consistency between seller and buyer. Internal marketing techniques could be employed to assess the efficiency and development of brand knowledge among employees, retailers and other channel members.Originality/valueThis is one of the pioneering studies that applies a marketing channel approach to investigate brand image inconsistencies in a concrete working example. It contributes to luxury brand management across borders, opening the way for further research. The study provides ecological validity and reliability by working on a triangulation approach, using qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Asymmetrical power relations and upgrading among suppliers of global clothing brands: Hugo Boss in Turkey

When a relatively powerless clothing supplier encroaches on the core competence of its dominant network partner and emerges as a competitor in its own right, this calls for detailed documentation and explanation. In this paper, we provide such an explanation through inquiry into the Turkish firm Sarar. A 13-year manufacturing contractor of Hugo Boss, it withdrew from its partnership with the German lead firm in 1998 and has since created its own brands of men's suits that are now sold at home and abroad. After the withdrawal, Hugo Boss established its own manufacturing facilities in Turkey. Here we investigate the relevancy of the national origin of the lead firm Hugo Boss and of the broader institutional and market setting of the post-1980 Turkey in which the relationship between the two firms was embedded. The findings are in some tension with the organizational frameworks that are frequently used to describe the clothing industry. Copyright 2007, Oxford University Press.

The ‘HUGO BOSS’ connection: Achieving global brand consistency across countries

In the quest for globalisation, luxury brands are affected by brand image inconsistencies across countries. With greater regularity of consumer travel and increasing international media, consumers expect brands to deliver the same values on a worldwide basis. In other words, consumers are not disposed to tolerate inconsistencies in terms of the core concept of the brand. Hence, brand image inconsistencies harm the overall brand reputation and need to be corrected. This case study uses HUGO BOSS, one of the leading international fashion groups, as an exemplar in order to provide a simple and exploratory investigation of a brand suffering from a perception gap abroad. Australia constitutes the foreign country for this study. This case outlines the rising demand for global luxury products in Australia and the growth of HUGO BOSS as well as its future perspectives in the Australian market. This empirical investigation addresses the perception gap of the HUGO BOSS brand by examining customers' level of brand knowledge in terms of brand awareness and familiarity with the company's different brands and labels, their brand perceptions and associations as well as the brand personality that HUGO BOSS possesses in Australia. The case study proposes that HUGO BOSS has been successful in establishing a unique brand identity as an international fashion label for high-quality business wear for men, but that the company's other brand attributes are less apparent for consumers and that the depth and variety of the brand is often not fully understood by its customers.