Mike Ashley’s Frasers ousts Hugo Boss chairman
Frasers Group, the retail empire run by Mike Ashley, has overthrown the chairman of Hugo Boss as it seeks control of the German fashion house.
The UK fashion group, which owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels, told investors on Monday that Stephan Sturm, chairman of Hugo Boss’ supervisory board, has agreed to step aside.
Ashley’s firm said it has agreed with the German fashion brand that now is an “appropriate point in time for an orderly transition” of power.
“Frasers and Mr Sturm have therefore mutually agreed that Mr Sturm will step down from his position as Chairman and member of the Supervisory Board as soon as possible as permitted by Hugo Boss’ constitution,” the group said.
Frasers Group owns nearly 48 per cent of Hugo Boss and has said it wants to push this holding above 50 per cent.
The company launched a bid for £1.7bn for the entirety of Hugo Boss in June, but this was slapped down as “inadequate” by the board of the German firm.
Frasers then appealed to shareholders in Hugo Boss, picking up about 17 per cent of the company through its €38-per-share offer, taking the value of its stake to nearly €1.5bn (£1.27bn).
The group said it will nominate Robert Palmer, a former Frasers company secretary. to Hugo Boss’s supervisory board. Frasers chief executive Michael Murray, Ashley’s son-in-law, already holds a seat on the board.
Ashley eyes control of Hugo Boss
Sturm was appointed as chairman of Hugo Boss’s supervisory board in May last year and his tenure was supposed to run until the end of the decade.
As part of the two-tier system common in German companies, Hugo Boss’s supervisory board sits above its managing board, scrutinising its work and appointing its members.
Sturm has held board roles at healthcare firm Fresnius, airline Lufthansa and the Heinz Herman Thiele foundation, which is the controlling shareholder of manufacturing giant Knorr-Bremse.
He said on Monday morning: “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.”
“Frasers would like to thank Mr Sturm for the contribution he has made to Hugo Boss as Chairman of the Supervisory Board and intends to work with him in the future,” Ashley’s group said.
Sturm will formally step down as chairman on October 15 and Hugo Boss said it will begin the search for his successor with immediate effect.
The London-listed firm’s push for control of the German fashion house is part of Mike Ashley’s campaign to expand into high-end fashion.
Sports Direct, which Ashley founded in 1982, surged to prominence for selling sportswear at rock-bottom prices.
But last month, Frasers snapped up struggling department store chain Harvey Nichols in a bid to boost the visibility of its luxury label, Flannels.
Frasers has garnered a reputation for taking stakes in rival companies and using these positions to make aggressive plays for change within the firm.
In 2024, Frasers built up stakes in luxury bagmaker Mulberry and online retailer Boohoo, but failed in its attempts to gain seats on the boards of both companies.
Earlier this year, Ashley launched a £166m takeover bid for Australian shoe company Accent and called for the removal of its chairman over his alleged “poor performance”.