Hugo Boss flagship for Sloane SquareHugo Boss will begin its company-owned store drive with a huge flagship
on London’s Sloane Square.
The location is understood to be a 10,000 sq ft former WH Smith unit,
which will open next year. The brand will also open a company-owned store
in Liverpool’s Met Quarter development. The store is understood
to have been originally earmarked as a franchise.
The openings will be overseen by retail director Rahul Modha, who joined
in April from Selfridges, where he was a menswear buyer. More company-owned
stores are expected to open in other cities in the next couple of years,
while a drive to open concessions is seen as a quick win to boost sales.
Hugo Boss has a 5,000 sq ft franchise in Nottingham and a 3,500 sq ft
store in Milton Keynes, both run by Thackery’s owner Brian Richards.
Moss Bros runs 12 Hugo Boss stores, including the Regent Street flagship.
There are also stores run by Tessuti in Chester, Cruise in Edinburgh and
Louis Copeland in Dublin.
One menswear brand director said: ‘Boss knows it can do a good
job by taking control of retail and it probably likes the plans to pedestrianise
Slone Square and take it upmarket. I would also expect to see more concessions
with the likes of House of Fraser.’
Hugo Boss will launch a womenswear range of its Boss Orange casualwear
label with a catwalk show and stand at Bread & Butter Berlin on July
22-24.
Head of Boss menswear Phil Holder will oversee the introduction of the
women’s collection. He said that UK sales of Boss Orange menswear
had reached £21 million via stores, concessions and 125 wholesale
accounts in the UK and Republic of Ireland.