Hugo Boss chairman to step down after pressure from Mike Ashley’s Frasers

The chairman of Hugo Boss is to step down from the luxury fashion brand as Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group tightens its grip on the business.

Sports Direct owner Frasers said it will now appoint a second representative onto Hugo Boss’s board after sharply increasing its ownership of the German brand in recent months.

On Monday, Hugo Boss told shareholders that Stephan Sturm has “decided to step down” from the group’s supervisory board following discussions with largest shareholder Frasers.

Earlier this month, Frasers said it was reviewing whether it supported Mr Sturm as chairman.

He will step down from board on October 15, serving as chairman until then or a successor is appointed.

Mike Ashley is the majority owner of Frasers Group (Yui Mok/PA)

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The German fashion giant said it has immediately launched the process to appoint his replacement.

“Following the recent changes in the company’s shareholder structure, I believe that this is the right time for an orderly transition in the chairmanship,” Mr Sturm said.

“Hugo Boss has an experienced supervisory board, a highly committed managing board and a clear strategic direction. I am convinced that the company is well positioned for future success.”

It comes after Frasers increased its ownership stake in Hugo Boss to almost 48% last month, and highlighted ambitions to increase this further to take majority control.

The FTSE 100 firm has steadily grown its stake in Hugo Boss since first investing in 2020, building its stake up to roughly 36% in July.

Frasers then launched a failed takeover attempt for the luxury business, offering to buy all shares in Hugo Boss it did not already own.

It offered to pay around 1.98 billion euro (£1.73 billion) for the remainder of the business, which would have meant paying about 38 euro per share to shareholders.

But Hugo Boss’s management and supervisory board said they felt the deal was “inadequate from a financial point of view” and recommended that shareholders do not accept it.

Frasers put the offer directly to shareholders, with shareholders worth 17.6% of the company accepting the terms, meaning the majority opted against the offer price.

It comes hot on the heels of Frasers’ acquisition of historic department store chain Harvey Nichols.

On Monday, Frasers said that it plans to appoint Robert Palmer as a second representative from the company to the Hugo Boss supervisory board.