On a preliminary basis, currency-adjusted revenues in the fourth quarter at Hugo Boss Ag increased 51 percent compared to the prior-year level, and exceeded Q4 2019 levels by 12 percent. In the reporting currency, sales grew by 55 percent to 906 million euros.

The company said in a release that the growth was supported by 98 percent of the Company’s store network being back in operation during the fourth quarter. In addition, Hugo Boss benefitted from ongoing robust consumer sentiment in key markets as well as the successful execution of key strategic initiatives as part of its ‘Claim 5’ strategy.

“2021 was a highly successful year for Hugo Boss,” said Daniel Grieder, Chief Executive Officer of the company, adding, “We strongly accelerated our sales and earnings development throughout the year and also made great strides in executing our new ‘Claim 5’ growth strategy. The upcoming weeks will see further important milestones, with the introduction of our new branding and the launch of the biggest Boss and Hugo marketing campaigns in our company’s history.”

Hugo and Boss witness sales growth in Q4

From a brand perspective, the company added, both Boss and Hugo posted significant sales improvements in the fourth quarter, fueled by strong increases across all wearing occasions. Compared to 2019 levels, currency-adjusted sales for Boss grew by 10 percent, while Hugo posted growth of 23 percent.

The company further said that all regions contributed to the acceleration in sales growth with Europe and the Americas once more showing particular strength. On a two-year-stack basis, currency-adjusted revenues in Europe were up 11 percent with all key markets – including the UK, Germany and France – contributing to sales growth. In the Americas, currency-adjusted sales were up 22 percent, with the important U.S. market accelerating sales growth to 15 percent, both compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Asia/Pacific revenues grew high single-digit compared to the prior year, translating into 6 percent growth compared to 2019. While the reopening of stores in South East Asia & Pacific fueled regional growth, sales in mainland China also grew 18 percent as compared to 2019.

Hugo Boss posts strong growth in online sales

The group’s total digital sales – including its own website Hugoboss.com, digital pure players, leading marketplaces as well as bricks and clicks – grew 50 percent as compared to the prior-year quarter, translating to strong growth of 85 percent on a two-year-stack basis. Total digital sales thus added up to 20 percent of group sales in the fourth quarter. The company is on its way to grow the digital penetration to a level of between 25 percent and 30 percent of group sales by 2025. The company’s own online sales amounted to 110 million euros in the final quarter of 2021, reflecting currency adjusted growth of 33 percent against the prior year and 78 percent as compared to 2019 levels.

The group’s retail business, including its own online, also recorded currency adjusted sales growth of 51 percent on the prior-year level and 15 percent on a two-year-stack basis. At the same time, wholesales sales increased by 60 percent versus last year, while they outperformed 2019 levels by 7 percent.

Hugo Boss records FY21 sales growth of 43 percent

On a preliminary, non-audited basis, Hugo Boss recorded sales of 2,786 million euros in full year 2021, representing an increase of 43 percent compared to the prior year, both on a reported and currency-adjusted basis. Currency-adjusted sales thus remained only 1 percent below pre-pandemic levels, with an average of around 90 percent of the company’s stores open during the year.

Hugo Boss sales, from a bottom-line perspective, earnings recovered in the course of the year, reflecting the strong group sales development. The group anticipates that operating profit (EBIT) will amount to 228 million euros in fiscal year 2021, with the fourth quarter contributing an EBIT of 100 million euros.

The group will publish its final results for 2021 and its financial outlook for the fiscal year 2022 on March 10, 2022.