The Metzingen-based fashion group Hugo Boss AG suffered significant losses in sales and profits in the first quarter of the 2026 financial year. The management justified this with the difficult general conditions and the “targeted refocusing of brands and sales channels” as part of the ongoing “Claim 5 Touchdown” reform program. Overall, the results that the company published on Tuesday were above analysts’ expectations.
“After our successful final quarter in 2025, we started the new year with a clear roadmap,” explained CEO Daniel Grieder in a statement. “However, the market environment has become more challenging over the course of the first quarter as a result of recent developments in the Middle East. Against this background, we have consistently focused on what we can influence and have decisively started the implementation phase of ‘Claim 5 Touchdown’.”
The group has “made noticeable progress in the targeted refocusing of our brands and sales channels, including streamlining our product ranges and further sharpening our global sales presence,” said Grieder. However, as expected, these measures were reflected in the sales development.
Group sales fell by nine percent
Group sales reached 905 million euros in the period from January to March, which corresponded to a decline of nine percent compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenue fell by six percent.
For the main brand Boss, sales fell by seven percent (-3 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 779 million euros. “While key brand initiatives continued to support the brand’s overall momentum, development was largely driven by strategic moves to strengthen long-term brand equity, particularly in womenswear,” it said in a statement. “At the same time, menswear was more resilient in the quarter, driven by casualwear-focused ranges.”
The Hugo label recorded a decline of 23 percent (-21 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 125 million euros. According to the company, one reason for this was the “continued strategic realignment of the brand” with a “clear focus on sharpening the brand identity around contemporary tailoring”.
Revenues are falling in all market regions
The group suffered losses in sales in all market regions. In the EMEA region, which includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue fell by ten percent (-8 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 568 million euros. According to the company, this was due to losses in important markets such as Germany, France and Great Britain due to “continued subdued consumer sentiment” as well as the effects of “targeted measures to increase sales quality”. After a “solid start to the year” in March, the effects of the Iran war became noticeable in the Middle East, the company explained.
In America, sales fell by eleven percent (-5 percent adjusted for currency effects) to 188 million euros. In the Asia-Pacific region it shrank by six percent to 123 million euros, although adjusted for currency effects it exceeded the level of the previous year’s quarter by one percent. “The drivers were the return to growth in China and further sales improvements in Southeast Asia & Pacific, supported by robust development in Japan,” the company said. Worldwide license income remained constant and amounted to 26 million euros.
Management confirms the annual forecasts
Although the group was able to increase its gross margin, which was 61.4 percent in the same quarter of the previous year, to 62.5 percent and at the same time reduce operating expenses, the result fell significantly due to the decline in sales. The operating profit (EBIT) shrank by 42 percent to 35 million euros, the net profit attributable to the shareholders even fell by 52 percent to 17 million euros.
In view of the latest developments, management confirmed its annual forecasts. A currency-adjusted decline in sales of a medium to high single-digit percentage is therefore still expected. For EBIT, which reached 391 million euros last year, the target range is between 300 and 350 million euros.
