Brand power
The power of our brands BOSS and HUGO is an essential prerequisite for the long-term success of our Company. Particularly in times of intense competition and constantly increasing customer expectations, further strengthening our brands is becoming increasingly important. As part of our “CLAIM 5” growth strategy, we aim at sustainably increasing brand power, with the goal of further elevating the perception and relevance of BOSS and HUGO in the coming years, especially among younger target groups. The increase in brand power is to be achieved primarily through the execution of strategic initiatives aimed at driving brand heat, brand health, and brand value. Group Strategy
HELLO Brands
To become one of the top 100 global brands, we pour all our passion into driving brand relevance for BOSS and HUGO with innovative marketing and product initiatives.
Learn more Learn moreAt HUGO BOSS, brand power is systematically measured and evaluated by the central Group Strategy and Corporate Development division. The Managing Board is kept regularly informed of the progress made and results of the work.
Targets
Strengthening our brands is firmly anchored in our “CLAIM 5” strategy. We are pursuing the ambition of becoming one of the top 100 global brands (based on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands ranking) and have therefore set ourselves the goal of significantly increasing the power of both our brands, BOSS and HUGO, in the coming years.
Measures
As part of “CLAIM 5,” we are closely aligning all strategic initiatives with our customers and their needs. As part of our strategic claim “Boost Brands,” we continue to build on the strong brand momentum following the comprehensive refresh of the global brand images of BOSS and HUGO in 2022. In the past fiscal year, various important marketing initiatives, above all our successful 360° BOSS and HUGO brand campaigns, again featuring star-studded diverse casts, continued to significantly boost awareness and engagement, in particular on social media. Exciting brand events further fueled brand relevance globally in 2023. In addition, as part of our strategic claim “Product is Key,” we made further progress in enhancing both brands’ 24/7 lifestyle images, thus aiming at perfectly dressing our customers for every occasion. In this context, also going forward, we remain committed to fully leveraging the BOSS Black, BOSS Orange, BOSS Green, and the exclusive BOSS Camel brand line within BOSS Menswear. Building on these successes, in 2023, we also launched the Orange and Camel lines at BOSS Womenswear, while strengthening our denimwear offering with the launch of HUGO BLUE set for early 2024. At the same time, offering a seamless brand experience across all consumer touchpoints continues to play an important role aimed at further strengthening brand power at the point of sale. Thus, as part of our claim “Drive Omnichannel,” we made considerable progress in 2023 in linking our digital and physical consumer touchpoints even more closely and turning them into true points of experience. In this regard, we continued to roll out the latest BOSS and HUGO store concepts, which are designed to strongly improve the shopping experience and are already implemented at more than 140 freestanding stores worldwide. In addition, further improving the e-commerce experience offered at hugoboss.com, as well as the successful relaunch of our hugoboss.com app in early 2023 both played an important role in further enhancing the omnichannel experience, thus also driving brand power. Group Strategy
At HUGO BOSS, brand power is measured as part of a systematic assessment in which both short-and medium-term trends in brand heat and brand health are captured and analyzed, along with the long-term development of brand value. In order to assess brand heat and brand health, we continuously record the scope and tonality of the interactions of BOSS and HUGO on social media and relevant search engines. In addition, we regularly conduct corresponding surveys among relevant target groups. The evaluation of brand value development is primarily based on a performance analysis of BOSS and HUGO compared to its competitors, taking into account not only the impact of the brand on the customer, but also factors such as the financial outlook. In realizing our ambition of becoming one of the top 100 global brands, we work closely with the global brand consulting agency Interbrand, focusing on the development of the Best Global Brands ranking.
In addition to the instruments for measuring brand power, the Company’s internal customer experience management (CEM) represents another important element in determining and improving customer satisfaction. This involves continuously recording direct customer feedback on the shopping experience and BOSS and HUGO products. The feedback is continuously aggregated, evaluated, and made available to the relevant decision makers at the Company on a daily basis.
Performance indicators
When evaluating the data obtained by means of the CEM, the net promoter score (NPS) forms the most important KPI. It measures the likelihood with which a customer will recommend BOSS and HUGO to others and thus provides important insights into brand health. In 2023, HUGO BOSS achieved a further robust improvement of the NPS, increasing 4 percentage points year-on-year to a level of 66% (2022: 62%).
In addition, in 2023 HUGO BOSS also made further important progress in its positioning in the annual Interbrand ranking, achieving a substantial increase in the combined brand value of BOSS and HUGO. This demonstrates the ongoing success of our various strategic initiatives executed to increase brand power, particularly in terms of brand value.
Data protection
The aim of data protection is to guarantee the individual’s right to self-determination in terms of information. Due to the strong focus of further digitalizing our business model, the importance of data protection is steadily growing for HUGO BOSS. Customer data, in particular data from our own online business and the customer loyalty program, is highly relevant for the future success of HUGO BOSS. Equally important is the proper handling of employees’, business partners’, and shareholders’ data. Any breach of data protection laws represents an increased compliance risk. HUGO BOSS aims to counter this risk using a system that complies with data protection laws and through appropriate technical and organizational measures. Risk Report, Organizational Risks
The central Data Protection Officer is responsible for the monitoring of data protection compliance. The Company has also assigned responsible staff in the international Group companies. A centrally operated data protection unit, together with data protection coordinators from key departments and in close cooperation with the Data Protection Officer, is responsible for ensuring that personal data is processed in a legally compliant way. The work focuses on the continuous assistance for departments in data protection issues, early identification of risks, remediation of weaknesses, and employee education. Any contraventions must be reported to the Data Protection Officer. The Managing Board is kept updated on the progress of the work on an ad hoc basis and, going forward, by means of annual data protection reports.
Targets
HUGO BOSS aims to rule out any contraventions of applicable data protection laws as far as possible.
Measures
Employees of HUGO BOSS are educated about data protection issues by means of general and activity-related training courses as well as regular documentation of digital confidentiality obligations. Therefore, all employees, handling personal data of EU data subjects, are required to complete the comprehensive e‑learning program on data protection. This is intended to continuously increase awareness of the handling of personal data, particularly in light of the provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Since 2023, this training must be completed in a two-year rather than a three-year cycle. In addition, we have an internal data protection policy as well as other data protection guidelines in place, in particular to guarantee the comprehensive rights of affected persons. The guidelines are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up to date in terms of the applicable data protection provisions, and constantly further developed. Furthermore, we implemented additional software in 2023 to continuously monitor the dynamic environment of international legal requirements for data protection and cyber security and to further minimize the risk of non-compliance with data protection regulations..
All internal processes and systems for processing personal data are measured on an ongoing basis and further developed to ensure that they comply with the legal data protection guidelines. The improvements aim at preventing data misuse and theft. There are extensive data protection provisions for the Company’s online presence and mobile apps. We have implemented contingency plans to initiate countermeasures in case legal violations are discovered.
Performance indicators
In fiscal year 2023, as in the prior year, the Company was not aware of any violations in the sense of data protection infringements established by authorities or courts.