Hugo Boss Supervisory Board Chairman Resigns Under Frasers Pressure

Stephan Sturm, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Hugo Boss, has resigned from his position due to pressure from the British retail group Frasers Group. Frasers, which is Hugo Boss's largest shareholder, recently expressed its intention to further increase its stake in the company to exceed 50 percent.

In a statement, Frasers welcomed the change in leadership at the luxury fashion company, describing it as a mutual agreement that marks a "new chapter" in the German group's history. Hugo Boss stated that the departure follows "constructive" discussions with Frasers, which now holds 47.9% of the apparel maker's shares after its takeover bid.

Frasers Group believes it is the right time to add a second director to the board, in addition to CEO Michael Murray, who is already a board member. The company also intends to propose the appointment of its General Counsel, Robert Palmer.

Hugo Boss has initiated a recruitment process to identify Stephan Sturm's successor. Frasers emphasized that the succession is expected to occur "as soon as possible" in accordance with the company's articles of association. Sturm, 63, began his career as a consultant at McKinsey before joining German health group Fresenius, where he became CEO in 2016.

Hugo Boss shares were down 0.2% at €38.2 on Monday morning, trading slightly above Frasers' offer price of €38 per share. In London, Frasers' stock was up around 0.4%.