A History of Hugo Boss and Hugo Boss Watches
In 1923, the year when post-World War I Germany was shaken
by high unemployment and hyperinflation, German master tailor Hugo Boss set up
shop in the small town of Metzingen, about 20 milessouth of Stuttgart. Boss
started out making protective suits for industrial workers and other work
clothes for men. Other Boss specialties were raincoats and uniforms. Over the
years the tailor's workshop grew into a small factory.
When Germany--led by Adolf Hitler's National
Socialist regime--went to war again in 1939, uniforms were in high demand. One
year before the company's 75th anniversary, in August 1997, the Austrian
current affairs magazine Profil reported that Hugo Boss's name appeared on a
list of dormant Swiss bank accounts, revealing that the company produced
uniforms for the Nazis, using forced laborers from France and Poland, during World War II. Two months
after the article appeared, Hugo Boss's top management assigned a historian
from a nearby university to research and document the company's history during
the infamous Nazi era and in 1999 pledged to reimburse its former slave
laborers.
For the past several years, a broad selection of innovative
lifestyle products has complemented the HUGO BOSS fashions, the segment Shoes
& Accessories has featured most prominently and represents considerable
growth potential for the company. This product group was therefore integrated
into the Group in 2004 and has been progressively expanded since.
All of the HUGO BOSS lines are rounded out by contemporary
leather collections. These include shoes, small leather goods, bags and luggage
– all keyed to the latest fashion trends and thus ideal for coordinated
accessorising. The year 2005 marked the opening of initial stores devoted
exclusively to accessories, and the response to these pilot venues – in
Frankfurt am Main and Amsterdam – was very encouraging. Their
specially developed design concept has since been implemented and licensing
agreements are in place for the three product groups Fragrances and Cosmetics,
Eyewear and Watches. |
