Fashion brand Hugo Boss is focusing on driving the recovery of its business online and in China amid ongoing ambiguity about the COVID-19 pandemic as it reported a return to profitability in the third quarter.
Hugo Boss stated quarterly revenue fell a currency-adjusted 24% to €533 million ($621 million), missing average analyst forecasts for €553 million, while its functioning profit of €15 million was slightly ahead of consensus.
The Fashion brand said sales in mainland China grew 27%, while online sales jumped 66%, as Hugo Boss launched e-commerce in 24 more markets in June and August.
While in Europe, sales fell 21%, even as demand recovered from the COVID-19 lockdowns in the second quarter in markets like Britain and France, as the failure in tourism kept hurting its business.
Recognized for its smart men’s suits, Hugo Boss had already been shifting to selling more sportswear and casual styles before the COVID-19 encouraged fashion trends to move even more in that direction as people work from home.
Its sales of casualwear were only down by a mid-single-digit percentage rate at its Hugo label targeting younger consumers.
