Despite the quarter being somewhat lower than the same period last year, fashion brand Hugo Boss reported better-than-expected Q1 revenue. It also reaffirmed its guidance for the entire year.
The German company’s first-quarter revenue dropped to US $ 1,129.87 million, somewhat less than the US $ 1.14 billion it made the previous year but more than experts had predicted.
The company, which has a significant shareholding held by the UK-based Frasers Group, claimed that increased macroeconomic uncertainties had a negative influence on industry development and worldwide consumer confidence.
However, steady implementation of strategic growth initiatives fuelled brand momentum and kept the quarter’s currency-adjusted group sales loss to 2 per cent.
This decline was broken down by region, with currency-adjusted revenues down 1 per cent in the Americas and EMEA and 8 per cent in Asia/Pacific due to persistently weak Chinese consumer demand. France and the UK had a modest decline in sales, while Germany’s sales remained steady. In Latin America, the group continued on its double-digit growth trajectory.
Hugo fell 2 per cent, Boss Menswear down 2 per cent, and Boss Womenswear fell just 1 per cent. With a 4 per cent increase, the digital business maintained its development trajectory, somewhat offsetting revenue decreases in physical wholesale (-3 per cent), as well as direct physical retail (-4 per cent) as well.
Despite additional efficiency improvements, the group’s EBIT profit decreased to US $ 69 million from US $ 78.04 million in Q1 of last year, yielding an EBIT margin of 6.1 per cent.
According to the company’s verified forecast, group sales would be relatively stable throughout 2025, ranging from 2 per cent to 2 per cent. Meanwhile, EBIT is expected to rise by 5 per cent to 22 per cent, with a target EBIT margin of 9 per cent to 10 per cent.
The broad scope of its recommendations emphasises how macroeconomic volatility will continue to be high, exacerbated by continued tariff uncertainty and weak global consumer confidence, which will continue to hinder sector growth.
