Here are some of this week’s news and features highlights handpicked by TheIndustry.fashion team.
Michael Murray becomes Hugo Boss Chairman as Frasers seeks majority control
The latest news in the continually evolving Hugo Boss saga has seen Frasers CEO Michael Murray being appointed as the German luxury brand’s Chairman.
Murray succeeded Stephan Sturm, who “decided to step down” from the group’s supervisory board following discussions with Boss’ now-largest shareholder, Frasers, on 14 September.
Alongside Murray, Robert Palmer, Director of Frasers Group Financial Services Limited since 2022, is also expected to join the Supervisory Board as a second Frasers representative.
The moves further showcase how Frasers is working to tighten its control on Hugo Boss, after it increased its stake in the company to 47.89%.
Murray’s appointment follows reports in July that Frasers was considering him as a future Hugo Boss CEO if its takeover succeeded.
That move would put Frasers in direct control of Hugo Boss’s operations and replace current CEO Daniel Grieder, whom the group had previously supported.
Speaking on Murray’s appointment, Grieder said that the Frasers CEO had consistently supported the direction of Boss’ Claim 5 Touchdown strategy and that he “together with Frasers Group, shares our view regarding the significant untapped potential of Hugo Boss”.
Signs that the latest move has created a compromise for both parties could be deduced from the comment of Sinan Piskin, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Hugo Boss.
He said that Murray’s appointment ensured continuity in the brand’s “strategic course”, adding that it signalled “clarity in the leadership of the Supervisory Board at an important stage for the company.”
Yet, if Frasers does reach its recently reiterated target of reaching majority ownership of Hugo Boss, I wonder if it will revisit its ambitions of ousting Grieder in favour of Murray.
All of this is happening, of course, in the context of Frasers Group’s recent acquisition of department store chain Harvey Nichols on 13 August.
We took a look at Frasers’ recent moves and how they fit in with its larger luxury group ambitions here.
Camilla Rydzek, Senior News Writer.
Designer handbags up for grabs on Greggs orders via Just Eat for LFW
You wouldn’t ordinarily connect Greggs and Just Eat with London Fashion Week (LFW), but yesterday’s ‘Handbag Some Joy’ prize promotion changed that.
Greggs’ customers spending over £20 on orders at select branches in London, Manchester, Leeds and Edinburgh (between 11am-1pm) through Just Eat had the chance to win one of 40 vintage designer handbags – delivered with their sausage rolls – on day one of LFW.
No doubt word got round, and I bet there were a few thousand new Greggs/Just Eat customers who have probably never tried the bakery’s pastry delights and pizza slices, but who love their fashion.
Sourced from luxury resale platforms, the vintage bags (10 for each of the four Greggs branches selected) included highly sought-after styles from the likes of Burberry, Mulberry, Christian Dior, Gucci, Chloe, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Prada and Givenchy, many of which are worth around the £500 mark.
I wonder if the Just Eat delivery drivers captured the joy on the faces of winning customers with their phone cameras when they dropped off the fast food complete with a slice of luxury? Now that would be a worthy LFW crumb-filled collage!
Tom Bottomley, Contributing Editor.
Oxfam taps Richard E. Grant for Second Hand September campaign
I really like Richard E. Grant, so I was immediately drawn to Oxfam’s latest Second Hand September campaign, particularly after reading the story behind his involvement. Grant has revealed that a second-hand coat from Oxfam played a part in helping him land his breakthrough role in Withnail & I.
For his 1986 audition, Grant arrived soaking wet wearing a second-hand Burberry trench coat he had bought from an Oxfam shop, which he said meant he had “nailed the look” for the part.
I also like seeing celebrities get involved in campaigns like this, as I think it helps make second-hand shopping feel more mainstream and encourages people who might not normally consider it to look at pre-loved fashion differently. Oxfam’s latest research found that almost a third of clothes in British wardrobes have not been worn in the past year, so there is clearly a lot sitting in our wardrobes that we could either reuse or donate.
Catherine Rowe-Kosary, Junior Writer.