When Hugo Boss started his clothes manufacturing facility, trendy suits and perfume were not on the agenda. Today, Hugo Boss is a well established global fashion empire with a group of retail outlets in 102 countries, more than 5000 stores and an annual turnover of over half a billion dollars. In spite of this, it was not always so good for the man whose business created one of the world's most trendy men's clothing lines and nowadays also incorporates Hugo Boss aftershave along with other men's accessories. Hugo Boss started his clothing business in 1923 in Metzingen, where it is still based, a little town south of Stuttgart, Germany. However, owing to the financial environment in Germany at the time Boss was forced into bankruptcy in 1930. Undeterred, Hugo formed a new firm and in 1931 became a member of the Nazi party. Through the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, Boss's company also began to prosper as he became the formal supplier of uniforms to the SA and SS guards. With the defeat of Germany in 1945, Boss was accused of being sympathetic to the Nazi cause and was denied the right to take part in an election in Germany and forced to pay a fine. He passed away in 1948 but his business continued and in 1953, with the need for SS uniforms vanished, the business turned its hand to creating suits. The timing was perfect, as the male fashion industry was just establishing itself and through the 60's and 70's Boss outfits were to become the standard for quality, fashionable menswear. In 1985 the company was floated on the stock exchange as a consequence the majority shareholder is nowadays the Marzotto textile group. In 1993, exactly seventy years after it was founded, Hugo Boss launched its initial fragrance, thus setting up a division of the company that has gradually grown to be a key area of business for the company. At present there are 2 major clothing lines - Hugo Boss and Hugo. The Baldessarini brand, named after the chief designer Werner Baldessarini (who resigned in 2002), was discontinued after the issue of the spring/summer compilation of 2007. Baldessarini is now an unconnected business unit that focuses on a more prestigious image than its 2 sister brand names. It offers, similar to the other Hugo Boss labels, garments, shoes, perfumes as well as accessories but left Hugo Boss after the Spring/Summer 2007 collection had been despatched to boutiques. This is due to the newly launched premium Boss line, Boss Black Selection, outselling Baldessarini. Baldessarini fashion was recently sold for approximately 9 million euros (Aug. 2006) to Ahlers AG, a fashion brand holding company. Werner Baldessarini will continue to design the collections; he remains in charge of marketing. Apart from suits, over the years Hugo Boss has branched out into shirts, ties, tuxedos, underwear, footwear, sunglasses together with a range of mens cologne and womens fragrances. Today's sub-brands for men include: Boss Black/Boss Black Selection, Boss Green, Boss Orange, Hugo, and Baldessarini. For women: Boss Black, Boss Orange (announced in July 2005 for Spring/Summer 2006 launch) and Hugo. Also part of the brand are Lifestyle Accessories. All fragrance brands (Hugo, Hugo Boss and Baldessarini) are now owned by Procter & Gamble.
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This article gives a brief history of Hugo Boss
Liz Simmons specialises in the promotion and marketing of mens and womens fragrances and has over 20 years experience in the industry. Hugo Energise eau de toilette for men is Elizabeths favourite Hugo Boss fragrance.
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