Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Hugo Boss....Are you like it???


Hugo Boss AG is a German luxury fashion and style house based in Metzingen, Germany. It is named after its founder Hugo Boss (1885–1948).

In 1924, Hugo Boss started his clothing company in Metzingen, a small town south of Stuttgart, where it is still based. Due to the economic climate of Germany at the time, Boss was forced into bankruptcy. In 1931, he reached an agreement with his creditors, leaving him with six sewing machines to start again.
Hugo Boss AG is a German luxury fashion and style house based in Metzingen, Germany

That same year, he became a member of the Nazi Party and a sponsoring member ("Förderndes Mitglied") of the Schutzstaffel (SS). With their help, his economic situation improved. He also joined the German Labour Front in 1936, the Reich Air Protection Association in 1939, and the National Socialist People's Welfare in 1941. After joining these organizations, his sales increased from 38,260 Reichsmarks (RM)-$26,993 U.S. dollars-in 1932 to over 3,300,000 RM in 1941. His profits also increased in the same time period from 5,000 RM to 241,000 RM. Though he claimed in a 1934-1935 advertisement that he had been a "supplier for National Socialist uniforms since 1924," it is probable that he did not begin to supply them until 1928 at the earliest. It is certain that he supplied them no later than 1934. This is the year he became an Reichszeugmeisterei-licensed (official) supplier of uniforms to the Sturmabteilung, Schutzstaffel, Hitler Youth, National Socialist Motor Corps, and other party organizations. To meet demand in later years of the war, Boss used an estimated 30 to 40 prisoners of war and 150 forced labourers, from the Baltic States, Belgium, France, Italy, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union.According to German historian Henning Kober, the company managers were avowed Nazis who were all great admirers of Adolf Hitler. In 1945 Hugo Boss had a photograph in his apartment of himself with Hitler taken at Hitler's Obersalzberg retreat.

Because of his early Nazi party membership, his financial support of the SS and the uniforms delivered to the Nazi party, Boss was considered both an "activist" and a "supporter and beneficiary of National Socialism". In a 1946 judgment he was stripped of his voting rights, his capacity to run a business, and fined "a very heavy penalty" of 100,000 Deutschmarks (DM)-$70,553 U.S. dollars-.He died in 1948, but his business survived.
Hugo Boss AG is a German luxury fashion and style house based in Metzingen, Germany.

In 2005, Marzotto spun off its fashion brands into the Valentino Fashion Group, which was then sold to Permira private equity group. Permira owns its majority shareholding in the Hugo Boss Group via Red & Black Lux S.à.r.l. at 39%, with 59% of the shares floated on Börse Frankfurt and the residual 2% held by the company itself. Hugo Boss has at least 6,102 points of sale in 124 countries. Hugo Boss AG directly owns over 364 retail stores, 537 monobrand retail stores, and over 1,000 franchise owned shops.

Products are manufactured in a variety of locations, including the company's own production sites in: Metzingen, Germany; Morrovalle, Italy; Radom, Poland; Izmir, Turkey; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Cleveland, United States.There are two core brands, Boss and Hugo.

In 2010, the company had sales of $2,345,850,000 and a net profit of $262,183,000,with royalties of 42% of total net profit.

In March 2010, Hugo Boss was boycotted by actor Danny Glover for the company's plans to close an Ohio suit manufacturing plant after 375 employees of the Workers United Union reportedly rejected Hugo Boss proposal to cut the workers' hourly wage 36% from $13 an hour to $8.30.After an initial statement by CFO Andreas Stockert saying the company had a responsibility to shareholders and would move suit manufacturing from Ohio to other facilities in Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania,the company capitulated to the boycott and cancelled the project.The Ohio factory is scheduled to be closed down in April 2015.

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