Frasers takes control of Hugo Boss
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group now owns just over half of Hugo Boss, turning the German suit and fashion brand into a subsidiary of the British retail group.
Photo: Aliaksei Smalenski / Pexels (Pexels License). Stock photo used for illustration; it is not from the event or brand in this story.
Hugo Boss now has a majority owner. On Friday 23 October 2026, Frasers Group, the British retailer behind Sports Direct, Flannels and House of Fraser, said it had bought another 198,666 Boss shares for about €7.6 million. That lifted its holding to 50.08 percent of the German company.
In its stock-market statement, Frasers says Hugo Boss will become a subsidiary and that the brand's earnings, assets and liabilities are expected to be consolidated into its own accounts. Frasers also holds options that could give it up to a further 21.87 percent.
A slow, determined build-up
According to The Business of Fashion, which carried a Bloomberg report, Frasers first invested in Boss in 2020 and kept buying after its takeover bid fell short. In June it offered €38 a share; Boss advised shareholders not to accept, arguing the price undervalued the company. In September, Frasers chief executive Michael Murray, who is also Mike Ashley's son-in-law, was named chairman of the German group, and supervisory board chairman Stephan Sturm left.
Boss itself is in the middle of a second turnaround plan under CEO Daniel Grieder, BoF reports. According to the Bloomberg report, a Hugo Boss spokesperson said the move from roughly 48 to just over 50 percent does not bring significant changes to influence or to day-to-day operations. Frasers' own filing notes that, under German law, the management board runs the company day to day, so its influence there may be limited.
Part of a bigger luxury push
The deal fits a wider pattern. BoF notes that Frasers has taken stakes in Mulberry and Burberry and bought the department store Harvey Nichols out of administration in August. Frasers declined to comment on its plans for Boss beyond its statement.
Why it matters
Boss is one of the most familiar names in European tailoring, from office suits to weekend knitwear. Boss says daily operations are not significantly affected, but the brand's future is now firmly tied to Frasers. If a sharp suit is on your list this season, our guide to the new suit shows how to wear it now.
Source
Original reporting: The Business of Fashion.
Also reported by: Frasers Group statement (London Stock Exchange).
This is a short summary in our own words. Names and facts are as reported by the sources above; Wardrobe Compass has no commercial relationship with the brands mentioned.
