METZINGEN, Germany — August 4, 2021 — Today, HUGO BOSS introduced its new 2025 growth strategy “CLAIM 5” and provides its mid-term financial ambition. Over the next five years, the company is fully committed to strongly accelerate top-line growth, claim its position in the consumers’ minds, and win market share for its strong brands BOSS and HUGO.

To deliver on its vision and ambition of becoming the premium tech-driven fashion platform worldwide, and one of the top-100 global brands, Hugo Boss introduces its CLAIM 5 strategy, which puts the consumer at the core of its business activities more than ever before. CLAIM 5 is based on five strong pillars: Boost Brands, Product is King, Lead in Digital, Rebalance Omnichannel, and Organize for Growth. It also includes a bold commitment to sustainability, together with a strong executional road map and a clear plan on empowering people and teams.

CLAIM 1 – Boost Brands

To strongly elevate brand relevance, the company is refreshing BOSS and HUGO — from logos over marketing, to brand new designs in retail and digital. As such, customers will experience both brands in a completely new look and feel. To become the leading power brands, it is the ambition to achieve around 2.6 billion euros in BOSS Menswear sales and to double BOSS Womenswear sales to around 400 million euros by 2025. This will be realized by enhancing the overall perception of BOSS as a lifestyle brand, increasing brand relevance, and strongly focusing on digital. The company also aims at driving around 800 million euros of sales for HUGO by building brand power, increasing brand awareness — with a dedicated marketing push — and driving geographical expansion. The company’s license business — covering a variety of products including fragrances, watches, and eyewear, among others — is set to contribute up to 200 million euros of revenues by 2025.

Two clearly distinguished marketing strategies — with a strong focus on digital as well as exceptional collaborations — are set to create excitement among consumers and unleash the full potential of BOSS and HUGO. Overall, incremental marketing spend will be more than 100 million euros between now and 2025.

CLAIM 2 – Product is King

With product at the center of its new strategy, Hugo Boss will create products to be worn 24/7 across all different wearing occasions. While casualization and comfort are key, Hugo Boss will strongly invest in its price-value proposition to ensure premium quality as well as high levels of innovation and sustainability. In doing so, the BOSS brand will foster its unique positioning in the premium/affordable luxury segment. To become the first touchpoint for younger consumers, the HUGO strategy builds on a broad range of commercial and contemporary pieces reflecting the authentic and unconventional HUGO style.

CLAIM 3 – Lead in Digital

Digital is key in ensuring a personalized omnichannel consumer journey. It is also enabling Hugo Boss to deliver on its vision to become the premium tech-driven fashion platform worldwide. The 2025 strategy therefore includes a strong commitment to further digitalizing the company’s business activities along the entire value chain, from trend detection and digital product development to AI-enabled pricing capabilities and the global rollout of digital showrooms. This also includes establishing a digital campus to further expand the company’s digital capabilities and to improve the consumers’ experience by leveraging data. The HUGO BOSS Digital Campus, based in Metzingen, Germany and Porto, Portugal, will strengthen the company’s online activities as well as analytical, technical, and executional capabilities. It extends Hugo Boss’ digital know-how with immediate effect by combining the company’s own expertise with that of experts on data execution. Overall, Hugo Boss will step up its investments into digital by more than 150 million euros by 2025.

CLAIM 4 – Rebalance Omnichannel

To translate brand power into all consumer touchpoints, Hugo Boss will rebalance its distribution footprint and strongly accelerate its omnichannel activities in the years to come. In this context, the company aims at ensuring a seamless brand experience across all consumer touchpoints. Boosting its digital revenues to more than 1 billion euros by 2025 will be a key element in this regard, and enable Hugo Boss to grow its digital penetration to a level between 25 percent and 30 percent of Group sales. The company’s digital ambition includes a strong commitment to all digital touchpoints – from its own website hugoboss.com to its online partner businesses, including digital pure players, leading marketplaces as well as bricks and clicks.

Hugo Boss will also unleash the full potential of retail as it aims at growing brick-and-mortar retail revenues to around 2 billion euros by 2025. Growth will be driven by an increase in store productivity of around 3-percent per year, as well as the further optimization and refreshing of the company’s global store network. In this context, around 80 percent of own stores are set to be refurbished during the next three years already, with overall investments into brick-and-mortar retail targeted to total around 500 million euros for the period until 2025. Hugo Boss also intends to increase brick-and-mortar wholesale revenues to a level of around 1 billion euros by 2025. The company is fully committed to reclaiming its position in this important channel by strengthening existing partnerships and regaining market share in key product categories.

CLAIM 5 – Organize for Growth

Hugo Boss will drive growth across all geographies while further balancing its global footprint. In Asia/Pacific, revenues are set to grow at a low-teens compound annual growth rate (CAGR 2019-2025). As a consequence, the region’s revenue share will grow to more than 20 percent within the next five years. Mainland China will continue to be of particular importance, with the company putting a strong focus on the Chinese consumer also in the years to come. HUGO BOSS is equally committed to fostering its leading position in premium apparel in Europe, where sales are forecast to grow at a low- to mid-single-digit rate per annum (CAGR 2019-2025). Key markets such as Germany, the United Kingdom, and France are all set to strongly contribute to growth by unleashing their full potential in retail, reclaiming wholesale with strong partners, and driving digital growth across all consumer touchpoints. In the Americas, revenues are projected to grow at a mid-single-digit CAGR between 2019 and 2025, as the company will strongly push the 24/7 brand image by fully leveraging the casualization trend in the important U.S. market.

‘Organize for Growth’ also means leveraging the company’s existing operations infrastructure as the future platform for speed and growth. Hugo Boss will therefore foster modular and digital product creation, continue to shorten lead times, increase flexibility in production and logistics, as well as push digitalization to further increase the overall efficiency and flexibility of its supply chain. By 2025, the Company aims at creating more than 90 percent of its products digitally while it also works towards reducing end-to-end lead times by around 30 percent.

At the same time, Hugo Boss will intensify its sustainability efforts to deliver both meaningful and measurable impact as well as emotional engagement with the consumer. The company’s ambitious sustainability targets include the aim for climate neutrality within its own area of responsibility by 2030 and throughout the entire value chain by 2045. In addition, Hugo Boss will put particular emphasis on establishing an end-to-end circular business model. In this context, the company aims to enable eight out of ten products to become circular by 2030.

“Our ‘CLAIM 5’ strategy is a clear vision for the company with the consumer at its core — helping to enhance the consumer journey, improve our product offering, increase our relevance, and drive growth across all geographies,” says Daniel Grieder, CEO of HUGO BOSS AG. “Our aim is to grow Hugo Boss in a fast but sustainable way, and I am confident that we have the right team and strategy to successfully execute and lead our Company into the future.”

2025 Financial Ambition

With its new strategy, Hugo Boss aims to double sales to 4 billion euros by 2025, which implies a strong CAGR of 16 percent taking 2020 as the base year, and 6 percent as compared to the pre-pandemic level of 2019. To successfully deliver on its strategy, Hugo Boss will step-up investments into its products, brands, digital capabilities, as well as its global store network, all aimed at fueling industry-leading top-line growth. Consequently, over the next five years, value creation will shift from driving relative margin improvements to delivering strong top-line growth, absolute profitability improvements, as well as superior free cash flow generation.

Until 2025, gross margin is forecast at a level of between 60 percent and 62 percent, reflecting product investments to enhance the price-value proposition and fuel top-line growth. At the same time, Hugo Boss is confident of returning to a strong EBIT margin of around 12 percent by 2025, translating into an EBIT CAGR of 6 percent between 2019 and 2025. Investments into the business will be compensated for by leveraging operating overheads as well as strong efficiency gains to be realized by optimizing the company’s global store network. The latter relates to ongoing relocation and rightsizing initiatives, selective store openings and closings, as well as rent renegotiations. Driven by the significant top- and bottom-line growth, Hugo Boss will generate substantial cumulative free cash flow between now and 2025. Improvements in trade net working capital and the smart and efficient use of capital expenditure will provide further support to free cash flow development. The majority of cumulative free cash flow — around EUR 2 billion until 2025 — will either be reinvested into the company or distributed to shareholders through regular dividend payouts. In this context, the company’s payout ratio until 2025 will be in a range of between 30 percent and 50 percent of net income attributable to shareholders.

Posted August 4, 2021

Source: HUGO BOSS

TOKYO  — August 4, 2021 — Avex Entertainment Inc. began limited sales from July 30 of the T-shirts from a Japanese fabric brand “majotae” (pronounced “ma-yo-tah-e”) on its official website, using hemp¹, the natural, sustainable material that is gaining attention globally.

By maximizing the company’s know-how in creating entertainment contents, Avex shares with the world a new concept in sustainability — hemp cloth, which combines both comfort as clothing, and earth-friendly, ecological aspects. Avex is cultivating a brand new field of business that creates moving experiences beyond the field of entertainment.

Majotae is a brand that utilizes modern technology to resurrect the true texture of the hemp cloth that Japanese people have used since ancient times. The greatest feature of majotae is its realization of a texture that overturns the image of typical hemp — as feeling hard and rough — to achieve silky touch and cotton softness.

Avex began this joint project in 2011 together with Shinichiro Yoshida, a leading expert in hemp cloth and an advisor to Avex, and Genbei Yamaguchi, 10th-generation Kondaya obi (kimono sash) artisan. After thoroughly researching the Edo-era production process of hemp cloth, and improving spinning efficiency by replacing the various manual processing methods with the latest technology and knowhow in order to mechanize them, in 2014 the company released softer, high-quality hemp cloth that fits to the body and becomes more supple in texture the longer it is used.

Greatly expanding the use of the sustainable material hemp

Hemp grows quickly, even in barren land and arid regions, without causing burden to the environment. It is gaining attention as the ultimate ecological material².

Until now, only woven textile could be produced which was limited in use due to the characteristics of hemp fibers. Now, by developing a thread that is more resistant than previous one which would break when it is spun, not only plain weaving, but the production of knitted fabric made from 100-percent hemp fiber became possible³. Due to this, Avex is able to expand the use of hemp cloth not just for shirts and kimono, but also knitted fabric products such as T-shirts and sweatshirts that until now commonly made from cotton and synthetic fibers.

As an ecological and a natural material⁴, majotae is physically comfortable to be used in T-shirts and various other daily items, we expect that it will greatly reduce barriers to sustainability.

Going forward

In 2018, the company acquired international patents⁵ for the production and manufacturing processes of hemp cloth, and we will continue research and development. In order to achieve the increasingly important goal of realizing a sustainable society, we will position hemp cloth as an ecological material of the future and continue to release “majotae” products in the lifestyle field.

¹ The raw material is harmless hemp that contains no hallucinogenic substances

² The amount of energy needed to manufacture 1 ton of hemp fiber is about one-third that of cotton (hemp uses 8.2GJ, while cotton uses 25.2 GJ). Source: Hemp Dokuhon, Yoshiyuki Akahoshi, 2006.

³ Compared with other flax fibers, such as linen and ramie, hemp fibers are non-uniform and straight, which causes low thread elasticity, makes it easy for threads to break when they are spun and, in particular, knitted cloth, which requires more thread elasticity than woven cloth, is difficult to produce.

⁴ Key characteristics of hemp cloth: continued use leads to rich texture, softness, durability. Quick drying, moisture and heat retaining due to the characteristics of its air-holding structure and the quality of the fibers.

⁵ Spinning efficiency is improved by using enzymes to soften the raw material of bast fiber (all flax fibers) and using a strong alkali to twist the fibers. Patents acquired in Japan, Taiwan, the US, China, France, Belgium, Spain

Posted August 4, 2021

Source: Avex Entertainment Inc.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — August 4, 2021 — Over the past year, there has been a resurgence of interest in sewing, embroidery, quilting and crafting with hobbyists and entrepreneurs alike. Today, Brother International Corp. has announced its latest additions for Brother Authorized Dealers featuring technological advances across the sewing and embroidery, and crafting machines for 2022.

“In 2020, our industry saw an incredible surge of new sewists and crafters enter the market,” said Shannon Sullivan, vice president, Home Appliance Division, of Brother International. “For many consumers, the sewing, arts and crafts market has become more than just a hobby but also an opportunity for side hustles and full-time small businesses. This is particularly true in the current environment where there is a push for shopping small, and a desire for personal, handmade goods and gifts.”

Brother’s lineup of new 2022 combo sewing and embroidery, and craft machines, software and accessories addresses the growing demands of sewing, quilting and embroidery enthusiasts, crafters, and entrepreneurs. Remaining an industry leader for over 60 years, Brother has introduced seven best-in-class products that reveal new groundbreaking technology geared towards crafters and entrepreneurs.

The new Brother machines will be available for order through Authorized Brother Dealers nationwide beginning today, August 4, 2021. The new for 2022 lineup includes two additions to the Quilt Club Series, the BQ3100 and BQ2500, the embroidery only NQ1700E and embroidery and sewing NQ3700D, the Entrepreneur W PR680W six-needle embroidery machine, and the ScanNCut DX Innov-ís Edition SDX325 and SDX330D electronic cutting machines. Brother is also introducing a variety of crafting and sewing accessories, supplies and kits.

Focusing on Today’s Modern Quiltmakers with the Innov-ís BQ3100 & BQ2500 Quilting and Sewing Machines

The enhanced BQ3100 and BQ2500 will join the BQ1350 and BQ950 as the latest additions to the Brother Quilt Club family.

• Innov-ís BQ3100: Combining built-in features like automatic height adjustment, the pivot function, and a variable-speed bobbin winder and innovative Sew Straight Laser Guide, the BQ3100 is a complete quilting and sewing studio in a box. The BQ3100 is straightforward enough for an ambitious beginner and entirely sufficient for experienced sewists seeking an upgrade. Designed with quilters in mind, it’s also ideal for sewists interested in creating garments and home décor.
• Innov-ís BQ2500: The BQ2500 fits perfectly into the Quilt Club lineup as a versatile, high-quality quilt making and sewing machine. With 729 built-in utility and decorative stitches, a 7″ LCD touchscreen display, and the Compact MuVit Digital Dual Feed, the BQ2500 is ideal for trading up or moving forward with all your sewing projects. The user-friendly settings, plus on-screen help and online videos combine for a powerful and beneficial sewing experience.

Craft with Disney or find the Perfect Cutting Partner with the ScanNCut DX Innov-ís Edition SDX325 and SDX330D

Two new ScanNCut DX models will be available exclusively through the dealer channel, the ScanNCut DX Innov-ís Edition SDX330D and the SDX325.  New to both models, is the dealer exclusive WLAN- My Connection.  From the Home Screen, customers can toggle over to the “My connection” tile to utilize the send/retrieve function. This function takes the place of having to use a USB to transfer designs between Brother compatible sewing/embroidery machines and the ScanNCut.  The machines can now talk to each other!

• ScanNCut DX SDX325 Electric Cutting Machine: For the crafting hobbyist who loves fabric, the SDX325 is the perfect addition to any sewing studio or craft room. With over 1300 built-in designs, 140 quilt frame patterns, 17 lettering fonts and a Thin Fabric Auto Blade, you can cut fabric for quilting and raw edge applique with ease and save time by cutting multiple pieces for your projects. Combine your love of fabric and crafting into one with the SDX325.
• ScanNCut DX SDX330D Electric Cutting Machine: With a welcoming blue Disney design, the SDX330D features revolutionary Blade Sensor technology, which can cut materials such as felt and foam (up to 3MM thick!) and over 1400 built-in designs (and 182 Disney built-in designs). The SDX330D has all the innovative features and trusted Brother reliability for today’s creative hobbyists, budding entrepreneurs, and Disney fans.

Embroider with the Innov-ís NQ1700E Embroidery-only Machine and the Innov-ís NQ3700D Combination Sewing and Embroidery Machine

The NQ1700E embroidery only machine is new to the Brother lineup as well as state-of-the-art features and Disney design capabilities of the Innov-ís NQ3700D, both featuring large 6″ x 10″ working area to tackle large projects and dealer exclusive WLAN-capability to link machines to wirelessly communicate and send/receive designs between compatible Brother machines. Both machines feature top-of-the-line digital color displays and access to Brother’s exclusive iBroidery.com to find over 5,000 additional designs for individual purchase.

• Innov-ís NQ1700E Embroidery Only Machine: Durable and affordable, the sleek white NQ1700E comes with over 250 built-in embroidery designs, a host of project-inspiring accessories such as an Auto Presser Foot (down to start), easy bobbin winding, and an automatic thread cutter.
• Disney Innov-ís NQ3700D Sewing and Embroidery Machine: Step up to the Innov-ís NQ3700D and take your embroidery and sewing skills to the next level. With premium sewing features such as an enhanced My Custom Stitch, an Automatic Height Adjuster, Disney embroidery patterns and sewing fonts, and an Automatic Feed Thread cutting system, offering 313 built-in embroidery designs, including 55 Disney designs, 140 frame pattern combinations and 13 lettering fonts, and 291 built-in stiches from auto size button holes to lettering for sewing.

Fuel Creativity and Business with the Entrepreneur W PR680W 6-Needle Embroidery Machine

Brother developed the Entrepreneur W PR680W 6-Needle Embroidery machine to up level the work of embroidery enthusiasts.

• Entrepreneur W PR680W 6-Needle Embroidery Machine: The new PR680W is ready to take you from stay-at-home hobbyist to small business marketplace with six customizable needle settings and a generous 8″ x 12″ work area. With the PR680W, create new projects on the large 8″x 12″ embroidery area or add an upcycling touch using one of the 100 built-in embroidery designs, 18 monogramming font styles, or 140 frame pattern combinations.

Now with wireless capability, when connected to your wireless network, you can transfer designs from your PC with Design Database Transfer (with no USB required). The My Stitch Monitor App alerts you when it’s time to change thread or your project is complete. You can also link up to 10 machines wirelessly when using PE Design 11. New features allow entrepreneurs and small business owners to be more productive and focused on their projects like never before.

Exclusive Brother Authorized Dealer Sewing, Embroidery and Crafting Accessories

Brother Genuine Accessories are the ideal complement to Brother machines, from different weights of stabilizers to multi-piece thread kits and frames and blades to make your projects and small business even more productive. Whether your passion is sewing, embroidery, or quilting, Brother has just the right accessory to help unlock your imagination. For your next home décor project, holiday gift-giving, or stylish homemade apparel, choose Brother Genuine Accessories.

For the ScanNCut DX

• • Rotary Auto Blade Kit and Solo Rotary Blade: Now available is a Rotary Auto Blade Kit & Consumable. This includes a blade holder, blade and 63 pieces of content which include 15 quilt piecing patterns, 40 letters and 8 projects that include a pin cushion, stuffed toy, and 3D applique. The rotary blade is perfect for delicate materials when used with the Low Tack Mat. The Rotary Auto Blade Kit & Consumable is only available for use with the ScanNCut DX Series of Machines.
  • Improved Roll Feeder: With the new and improved roll feeder, your customers will be able to cut rolled heat-transfer vinyl with ease. In fact, the roll feeder has been improved to cut craft adhesive designs AND Heat Transfer Vinyl up to 6 ft. long!

For Sewing, Quilting & Embroidery Machines

• BES Blue Edition, Embroidery & Lettering Software: Perfect for the embroiderer looking to start their journey with Brother Embroidery software, BES Blue has many embroidery and lettering features to get you started. BES Blue has on-screen typing, sewing order, font categories, fills and underlay, and more! Resize embroidery designs and merge multiple designs onto one page.  Specialty features include 199 pre-digitized fonts with editing and customization components, 800+ embroidery designs, monogram designing, name drops, drawing tools to convert to appliqué, plus its ScanNCut compatible, making cutting out appliqué a cinch!
  • Advanced Quilt Design Software: Created for the maker who wants to design their quilts before getting started on their fabric, Advanced Quilt Design allows you to try out multiple design variations on screen before you get started on your Brother Sewing Machine. It’s also compatible with your ScanNCut series machine! Create custom quilt blocks and cut them out with ease.
  • Compact Dual Feed ‘MuVit’ Foot: The enhanced Compact MuVit Digital Dual Feed Foot is compatible with over 100 stitch designs in various styles, perfect for quilting and sewing traditionally tricky fabrics. The MuVit Dual Feed Foot can powerfully feed fabric from the top and bottom, and all that power is packed into an amazingly compact body. This digitally-controlled, direct motor-driven accessory foot is designed for complex projects which require special handling, making it easy to sew precise, uniform stitches on a range of fabrics like leather, faux fur, and silk.
  • Flash Magnetic Frames: Available to fit all your maker needs, the Flash Magnetic Frame System comes in 4″x4″ and 5″x7″, solo with the frame only or the full frame and driver to ease hooping with four magnets that quickly fit snug into place to hold thick materials for your embroidery needs, and remove the need to rehoop without removing from the machine to make changing any project more efficient.

Among the new accessories are also thread kits, software, sewing accessories, notions, and new machine playbooks for additional education and tips.

Posted August 4, 2021

Source: Brother International Corp.