Upmarket fashion brand Hugo Boss is to launch its first stand-alone store for its Hugo brand as it mulls opening its first womenswear fascia in the UK.
The retailer, which has 42 stores including concessions and franchises, is eyeing London’s high-end South Molton Street for its first Hugo shop.
The Hugo brand – which offers more avant garde designs – is at present sold in its existing Hugo Boss stores.
Hugo Boss UK managing director Bernd Hake said London is a key focus for the retailer, which is looking for a further Hugo Boss store in Covent Garden. “Our products are working well in metropolitan cities. London attracts a lot of tourists and the Olympics will bring even more,” he said.
Hugo Boss’s UK sales jumped 37% in 2011, Hake said. He expects double-digit growth to continue next year.
The menswear brand aims to expand its womenswear offer, which accounts for just over 10% of overall sales.
Hugo Boss group chief executive Claus-Dietrich Lahrs expects London to have its own standalone Hugo Boss womenswear store in the next two to three years.
Hake said: “We’re going to allocate it a lot more space. We can achieve sales densities in-line with menswear, especially in London, with businesswomen embracing our tailored heritage.” The fashion group is also investing £15m in store revamps next year.
The 15 franchise stores it acquired from former partner Moss Bros this year will be refreshed, starting with the refurbishment of its Regent Street flagship in January. The shop will become more interactive with catwalk shows shown on digital screens to showcase the brand’s offer.
Hugo Boss bought the shops as part of a strategy to change the sales mix of its business.
Two-thirds of the retailer’s worldwide revenue comes from wholesale and franchise operations, with the remainder coming from its company-owned stores. But by 2015, Lahrs expects company-owned stores to account for two-thirds of revenue.
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