Hugo Boss defends supervisory chair after Frasers Group pulls backing

The chairman of the supervisory board at Hugo Boss has lost the backing of the fashion group’s largest shareholder, Frasers Group, intensifying tensions at the top of the German luxury apparel company.

In a mandatory announcement published late Friday, Frasers Group said it no longer supports Stephan Sturm in his role as supervisory board chair. Despite this, Hugo Boss moved quickly to signal continuity, stating that Sturm “stands by his responsibility as chairman of the supervisory board and has the firm intention to continue exercising this office.”

Hugo Boss shares rose nearly 0.7 percent on Monday morning, placing them among the few gainers in the MDax index of mid-sized companies. Nevertheless, the stock remains down about 14 percent since the start of the year.

According to the filing, Sturm had previously informed Frasers Group that he did not wish to continue as chair without its support. The investor—which holds a 25 percent stake and is by far the company’s largest shareholder—now intends to seek influence over the future composition of the supervisory board, with the aim of removing Sturm if necessary and appointing a replacement.

The dispute follows months of friction over dividend policy. In a July announcement, Frasers Group argued that Hugo Boss shares were undervalued and that the company should not be paying dividends at present. Instead, the investor said funds should be retained to strengthen the balance sheet and drive long-term value creation.

Management, led by CEO Daniel Grieder, recently struck a more cautious tone on the outlook for the year. When presenting third-quarter results in early November, the company warned that revenue and EBIT were expected to come in at the lower end of the forecast ranges for 2025, citing economic uncertainty and adverse currency effects. Hugo Boss continues to expect revenue of 4.2 billion euros to 4.4 billion euros and EBIT of 380 million euros to 440 million euros.

Hugo Boss will hold an investor event on December 3, where the leadership team is expected to update the market on its strategic priorities amid the escalating governance dispute.

This article was updated with further details on December 1, 2025 at 11.23am GMT.

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