For HUGO BOSS, fiscal year 2022 marked a first important milestone in the successful execution of its “CLAIM 5” growth strategy. In particular, the new and powerful brand image of BOSS and HUGO drove brand momentum throughout the year, resulting in strong sell-through rates and enabling both brands to successfully expand market share globally. Against this backdrop, we posted record sales as well as strong bottom-line improvements, thus exceeding our full-year 2022 sales and earnings targets. This stellar business performance is all the more remarkable considering the high level of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty in fiscal year 2022, including global supply chain disruptions, the economic implications of the war in Ukraine, and long-lasting pandemic-related restrictions in China. Comparison of Actual and Forecast Business Performance
The successful execution of several key brand, product, and sales initiatives as part of our “CLAIM 5” strategy significantly spurred our operational and financial performance in 2022. In line with our strategic claim “Boost Brands,” in January 2022, we comprehensively renewed the brand images of BOSS and HUGO as part of our global branding refresh. Record-breaking global marketing campaigns, numerous exciting brand events, as well as inspiring collaborations significantly drove brand relevance for BOSS and HUGO, in particular among younger consumers. The branding refresh also became visible within our brands’ collections as part of our strategic claim “Product is King.” In this context, the completely new “look and feel” of our products resulted in strong wholesale order intakes as well as robust sell-through rates in own retail. We achieved important progress in further strengthening the 24/7 lifestyle image of BOSS with the reintroduction of the BOSS Black, BOSS Orange, and BOSS Green brand lines as well as the first-time introduction of BOSS Camel. At the same time, HUGO made important progress towards becoming the first point of contact for younger consumers by strengthening its broad range of trendy and contemporary products. We also achieved important successes with regard to our two strategic claims “Lead in Digital” and “Rebalance Omnichannel”. To these ends, the HUGO BOSS Digital Campus successfully implemented the global relaunch of our digital flagship hugoboss.com in early 2022. At the same time, we pushed ahead with the further optimization and modernization of our global store network. New, innovative store concepts for BOSS and HUGO, which aim to be significantly more inviting, digital, and productive, can already be experienced by customers in more than 60 freestanding stores globally. In this regard, the opening of our new BOSS flagship store on Oxford Street in London in mid-2022 represented an important milestone, with the store’s new retail approach setting the stage for a leading omnichannel journey. In line with our claim “Organize for Growth”, in 2022, we strongly advanced in driving digitalization and increasing efficiency and flexibility along the value chain. In this context, we also opened an additional high-tech factory in Izmir dedicated to the production of casualwear. Our aim is to be able to react even faster and more flexibly in the future, being closer to consumer demand and fulfilling preferences in the best possible way. Group Strategy, Sourcing and Production
Overall, Group sales increased by a strong 27% currency-adjusted, totaling EUR 3,651 million in 2022, thus exceeding the EUR 3 billion threshold for the first time in the history of HUGO BOSS (2021: EUR 2,786 million). Growth was broad-based with both our brands, all regions, and distribution channels contributing to growth. Consequently, currency-adjusted revenues significantly exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 26% (2019: EUR 2,884 million). Driven by the strong top-line performance and despite ongoing brand, product, and digital investments as part of “CLAIM 5”, in fiscal year 2022 we also recorded significant bottom-line improvements. Consequently, operating profit (EBIT) increased by 47% to an amount of EUR 335 million in fiscal year 2022 (2021: EUR 228 million), resulting in a robust increase in EBIT margin to a level of 9.2% (2021: 8.2%). Earnings Development, Financial Position
In fiscal year 2023, we will continue to put particular emphasis on the determined and relentless execution of “CLAIM 5” to make further progress along our 2025 financial ambition. This includes, above all, building on the strong brand power gained in the wake of the comprehensive branding refresh successfully implemented in 2022 and maintaining the overall top-line momentum. Against the backdrop of ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, HUGO BOSS expects Group sales in 2023 to increase at a mid-single-digit percentage rate. At the same time, the Company forecasts to increase its EBIT in 2023 within a range of +5% to +12% to an amount of between EUR 350 million and EUR 375 million. In this context, our investments planned for 2023 as part of “CLAIM 5” to further strengthen products, brands, and digital expertise are expected to be more than offset by efficiency gains, in particular when it comes to our brick-and-mortar retail store network. Outlook
In view of the strong operational and financial performance in 2022, the very solid financial position, and management’s confidence in the further successful execution of “CLAIM 5”, the Managing Board and the Supervisory Board intend to propose to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 9, 2023, a dividend of EUR 1.00 per share for fiscal year 2022, corresponding to an increase of 43% year over year (2021: EUR 0.70). In view of its healthy balance sheet structure and ongoing positive free cash flow generation, the Group remains in an exceedingly solid economic situation at the time of preparing this report. Outlook
Metzingen, February 22, 2023
HUGO BOSS AG
The Managing Board
Daniel Grieder
Yves Müller
Oliver Timm