Biography of the Hugo Boss Design Company

When Hugo Boss started his clothes factory, trendy suits and perfume were not on the agenda. Now, Hugo Boss is a well established international style empire with a string of boutiques in 102 nations, more than 5000 stores as well as an annual revenue of over half a billion dollars. However, it was not always so good for the man whose company created one of the world's most trendy men's clothing lines and currently additionally features Hugo Boss fragrance and additional men's accessories.
Hugo Boss started his clothing company in 1923 in Metzingen, where it is still based, a small municipality south of Stuttgart, Germany. But, due to the economic climate inside Germany at the time Boss was forced into bankruptcy during 1930. Undeterred, Hugo set up a new firm and during 1931 became a member of the Nazi party. Through the advance of Adolf Hitler in 1933, Boss's company also started to thrive as he became the approved supplier of uniforms to the SA and SS guards.
With the defeat of Germany in 1945, Boss was charged with sympathy to the Nazi regime and was denied the entitlement to vote in Germany and forced to pay a fine. He passed away in 1948 nevertheless his company survived and in 1953, with the demand for SS uniforms gone, the business turned its direction to designing suits. The timing was perfect, as the male fashion industry was just establishing itself and through the 60's and 70's Boss outfits became the standard for quality, fashionable menswear.
In 1985 the company was floated on the stock market as a consequence the biggest shareholder is now the Marzotto textile group. In 1993, exactly seventy years after it was founded, Hugo Boss launched its first cologne, consequently producing a sector of the company that has gradually developed to become a valuable area of business for the company.
At present there are 2 central clothing lines - Hugo Boss and Hugo. The Baldessarini brand, named after the chief designer Werner Baldessarini (who resigned in 2002), was discontinued after the release of the spring/summer collection of 2007. Baldessarini is now a detached business entity that concentrates on a more esteemed image than its two sister labels. It sells, similar to the other Hugo Boss brands, clothes, footwear, fragrances as well as accessories but left Hugo Boss after the Spring/Summer 2007 collection had been despatched to boutiques. This is due to the newly released premium Boss line, Boss Black Selection, outselling Baldessarini. Baldessarini fashion was recently sold for approximately 9 million euros (Aug. 2006) to Ahlers AG, a fashion brand holding company. Werner Baldessarini will continue to design the collections; he will also be in charge of marketing.
Apart from suits, over the years Hugo Boss has branched out into shirts, ties, tuxedos, underwear, footwear, sunglasses including a range of mens cologne and womens fragrances.
Today's sub-brands for men include: Boss Black/Boss Black Selection, Boss Green, Boss Orange, Hugo, and Baldessarini. For women: Boss Black, Boss Orange (announced in July 2005 for Spring/Summer 2006 launch) and Hugo. Also part of the brand are Lifestyle Accessories.
All fragrance brands (Hugo, Hugo Boss and Baldessarini) are now owned by Procter & Gamble.

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Liz Simmons specialises in the promotion and marketing of mens and womens fragrances and has over 20 years experience in the industry. Hugo by Hugo Boss men's cologne is Elizabeths favourite Hugo Boss fragrance.

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