As the global luxury sector faces slowing growth and changing consumer tastes, fashion houses are being forced to rethink both their image and their operations.
On the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Euronews spoke to Hugo Boss CEO Daniel Grieder about how the century-old German brand is repositioning itself for a new generation of shoppers.
A century old, but not stuck in the past
For Grieder, the company’s recent milestone is less about looking back than using its history as proof of resilience.
“Last summer we became 100 years old,” he said, framing the anniversary as a marker of durability in an industry where trends move fast and brand relevance can disappear overnight.
He links that staying power to an unwavering focus on product, calling it “a testament of a strong brand that was always creating a great product.”
That heritage, he noted, was built first and foremost on tailoring.
“We were known for suits at the beginning… we are the biggest suit company in the world.” Grieder said, pointing to a category where the brand still sees itself as an industry heavyweight.
But the current ambition is broader and designed to match the way people actually live now — moving between office, travel, social life and downtime without changing their identity each time.
In the past few years, he said, Hugo Boss has worked to become “the 24-7 lifestyle brand”, signalling a pivot from occasion dressing towards a wardrobe that travels with the customer through the day.
Why a fashion house is thinking like a tech company
The strategy, in Grieder’s telling, rests on a belief that fashion can no longer rely on aesthetics and distribution alone.
“Our mission was to become a tech-driven fashion platform worldwide,” he said, acknowledging that this language can sound alien in an industry built on craft and image.
“Everybody said, what do you want to do with tech-driven as a fashion company?” he remarked.
But the point, he argued, is not to replace design with algorithms. It aims to modernise how the business runs — making it faster, more responsive and more resilient by integrating digital tools across operations.
“We wanted to implement digitalisation, AI through the whole value chain of the company,” he said. In a market where demand patterns change quickly and competition is global, he believes the brands that win will be those that keep adapting.
“You can only survive if you are innovative,” he said, arguing that new technology has to be absorbed into the organisation rather than treated as a separate experiment.
Omnipresent — and built around the customer
That operational overhaul connects to a second pillar: designing the business around the end consumer.
“You have to put the consumer in the middle of everything we do,” Grieder said, describing a shift towards listening more closely to what customers want and aligning the brand’s touchpoints accordingly.
For Hugo Boss, that means being visible and consistent wherever the customer encounters it.
“We have to become a brand that is omnipresent… it doesn’t matter if it is online or offline” he said, emphasising that the boundary between digital and physical retail is no longer the dividing line it once was.
The goal is a relationship that goes beyond a one-off transaction — building a base of repeat customers who stay emotionally connected to the brand.
“We want to make sure consumers are fans of what we do,” he said, arguing that loyalty is stronger when people feel invested rather than merely satisfied.
How loyalty changes with younger customers
The challenge, however, is that loyalty itself is evolving — particularly among younger shoppers, whose habits are shaped by choice overload and constant novelty.
“They are unfortunately a bit less loyal,” Grieder said, suggesting that brands can no longer assume a customer will return simply because they had a good experience once.
Instead, he believes the new currency is community — bringing people together around shared interests in ways that feel natural rather than forced. “You have to build communities,” he said, pointing to areas where Hugo Boss has tried to do that in practice.
Underneath that approach is a demand for credibility, he argued, and a low tolerance for marketing that feels contrived. “Everything that is fake, everything that is not real they hate,” he said, warning that inauthenticity doesn’t just fail — it can actively push customers away.
The store is now a stage
That emphasis on experience shows up in how Grieder talks about physical retail. In his view, a shop can no longer be designed simply to close a sale, it has to justify the trip. “A store is no longer merely a point of sale,” he said. “It’s a place of experience.”
In that model, the store’s job is to spark interest, build emotion and deepen the brand connection — even when a purchase doesn’t happen on the spot.
Grieder’s focus is on keeping the customer inside the brand ecosystem, regardless of where the final transaction takes place.
“It doesn’t matter as long as they buy your brand,” he said, reflecting the logic of an omnichannel world where discovery, decision and purchase rarely happen in the same place.
Personalisation, at scale, is the next test
Alongside experience, Grieder sees personalisation as a rising expectation — and a difficult operational challenge.
“The shopping experience has to be personalised,” he said, describing a consumer who increasingly expects brands to recognise them, anticipate their preferences and offer options that feel tailored.
He added that this extends beyond service into product itself: “The garments have to have the option of being personalised.”
The complication is that personalisation is easier to promise than to execute at scale, particularly for a global brand.
“It’s hard to scale,” he said, underlining the tension between individualisation and efficiency. Even so, he believes it is worth the effort, because it deepens attachment and repeat behaviour. “The more you personalise, the better,” he said, arguing that the payoff is a customer who feels seen — and is therefore more likely to stick around.
Quiet luxury, sharper value, and a more sceptical shopper
All of these moves are being made as the broader luxury market comes under strain.
“The luxury market is under pressure,” Grieder said, pointing to multiple forces reshaping demand.
One of them is cultural: the status-driven appeal of conspicuous branding is fading. “Big brands with big logos as a status symbol are no longer as popular,” he said.
In its place, he sees a tilt towards understatement and quality — what is often described as quiet luxury.
“It’s shifting more to value now,” he said, describing a consumer who wants the product to feel good rather than look loud. “You don’t want to show off what you’re wearing,” he added, suggesting that confidence today is expressed through refinement rather than recognition.
The other shift is economic and informational: shoppers are better informed about what things cost to make and are more critical when price and perceived value drift too far apart.
“The end consumer is more and more aware of what it costs to make something,” Grieder said, arguing that some parts of the luxury market have tested customers’ tolerance.
For brands positioned between premium and luxury, he believes the task is to stay honest about value while still delivering aspiration. “You have to find the right balance,” he said, stressing that customers should leave feeling satisfied rather than second-guessing.
The aim, he added, is to offer “a product that has a good value for the price” — and to make sure the purchase feels like a reward, not a regret.
