Product Development and Innovation

At HUGO BOSS, we put strong effort on developing collections and products that meet the highest customer demands in terms of design, quality, innovation, and sustainability. With our 24/7-lifestyle approach, we put consumers at the center of all our activities and offer a broad range of products for different wearing occasions. At the same time, we are committed to continuously optimizing the price-value proposition to guarantee highest quality, a superior degree of innovation and sustainability, and features that enable our brands to clearly distinguish themselves from the competition. We aim to fully leverage digitalization throughout the entire product development process to further enhance speed, precision, and sustainability. Inspiring capsule collections and high-impact collaborations with renowned brands and personalities also contribute to strengthening the relevance and brand equity of BOSS and HUGO. Group Strategy, Brand Excellence

The design and product development process at HUGO BOSS involves the transformation of a creative idea into a commercial product. The work is carried out at our three development centers in Metzingen (Germany), Coldrerio (Switzerland), and Morrovalle (Italy). While the majority of our collections are developed at the Group headquarters in Metzingen, the Coldrerio site is mainly responsible for the development of the product categories shirts, knitwear, shoes, and accessories, as well as bodywear and hosiery. In Morrovalle, we develop high-quality shoes and leather accessories.

Product development process

In recent years, we have significantly expanded the digitalization of our product development process, largely replacing the conventional process. It enables us to operate more flexibly across the entire value chain and consequently adapt more effectively and quickly to changing consumer trends and customer demand. At the same time, we are convinced that the ongoing digitalization of product development will also contribute positively to our sustainability ambitions, as it allows for further reducing the need for physical samples, predicting trends more accurately, and better anticipating customer preferences, thus minimizing waste. In fiscal year 2025, the proportion of digitally developed products amounted to around 75% (2024: around 65%), with continued expansion expected over the coming years.

The product development process starts with the creative idea that is transformed into specific designs and collections. In this context, we take into account sell-through rates of previous collections, feedback from wholesale partners and customers, as well as AI-driven insights derived from digital demand forecasting and trend analysis. With the goal of reducing overall collection complexity by around 20% across brands by 2028, we are placing a strong emphasis on a more focused product assortment. The conventional product development process sees our design teams’ creative ideas tailored in the pattern-design phase, followed by technical product development turning models into prototypes and testing their suitability for the industrial production process. This step is followed by the manufacture of sample collections. The digital product development process, on the other hand, allows all these steps to be realized digitally. In this context, in-house developed image generators, virtual try-ons with avatars, as well as immersive 3D simulations with innovative software solutions enable us to simplify development processes without compromising on performance and fit. When selling our collections, digitally developed styles are also of high importance – for example to wholesale partners via digital showrooms or offering virtual try-ons to our customers at hugoboss.com.

Key areas of product innovation

We are committed to unlocking the full potential of BOSS and HUGO by perfectly dressing our customers 24/7 and for every occasion. Driving casualization along our collections and further optimizing wearing comfort through the increased use of innovative materials are of particular importance and thus a key area of product innovation. With BOSS, we continue to drive innovation particularly within our athleisurewear offering as part of BOSS Green, including the launch of functional capsule collections, for example our dedicated BOSS Ski capsule. At the same time, our BOSS Performance product range, which accounts for around one third of our BOSS formalwear assortment, further elevates our BOSS Black offering. It combines traditional formalwear outfits with innovative sportswear elements, thereby perfectly matching the needs of our customers. At HUGO, the Company will drive a more harmonized and aligned product offering. A clear focus on contemporary tailoring and streetwear aims at sharpening brand identity and fueling brand heat. Group Strategy, Brand Excellence

We are equally committed to living up to customer expectations in terms of sustainability. To this end, we also continue to explore innovative materials and manufacturing techniques, aiming to reduce the environmental impact. As part of a long-term strategic partnership with textile and material innovator HeiQ, we are leveraging AeoniQ, a circular and recyclable cellulose yarn, aimed at replacing environmentally impactful polyester and polyamide. In addition, we introduced NovaPoly in 2025, a recycled polyester yarn made from textile waste generated during production as well as the post-consumer phase. Going forward, initiatives like these are set to also support our ambition of enabling 80% of apparel products to become circular by 2030, with 41% of products already classified as circular in 2025 (2024: 33%). Group Strategy, Sustainability Strategy

The four main collections of BOSS and HUGO are designed to offer customers both a broad range of core products as well as a variety of seasonal and particularly fashion-conscious styles. Besides these main collections, we team up with other well-known brands and personalities to create inspiring capsule collections and high-impact collaborations. In doing so, we want to constantly increase the relevance of BOSS and HUGO and excite consumers all over the globe. In 2025, we further leveraged our partnership with David Beckham, including the launch of two dedicated Beckham x BOSS collections. In addition, BOSS collaborated with strong partners such as Aston Martin and Steiff, while HUGO again teamed up with Formula One’s Racing Bulls in 2025. Exceptional collaborations like these will continue to play a key role in driving brand equity and customer loyalty. Our product range is completed by basic and core products, such as never-out-of-stock items, which are designed to remain part of our collections for multiple seasons, as they are not tied to seasonal or fashion-driven trends. Group Strategy, Brand Excellence

Key R&D figures

The research and product development (R&D) departments of HUGO BOSS are staffed primarily by fashion and 3D designers, tailors, shoe and clothing technicians, and engineers. As of December 31, 2025, the number of employees in this area totaled 696 (2024: 731).

At EUR 87 million, our R&D expenses in 2025 were slightly below the prior-year level (2024: EUR 90 million). At 77%, personnel expenses accounted for the vast majority of R&D expenses last fiscal year (2024: 75%), with the remainder being primarily composed of other department expenses. In 2025, R&D costs were again mostly recognized as expenses at the time they were incurred. In addition, production-related development expenses are included in the cost of conversion of inventories. No development expenses were recognized as internally generated intangible assets due to the predominantly short product life cycles.