Employees and teams

HUGO BOSS firmly believes that its employees are the foundation to the successful execution of its “CLAIM 5” growth strategy. A commitment to empowering people and teams is therefore firmly anchored in “CLAIM 5”. In this context, the five HUGO BOSS values – entrepreneurial spirit, personal ownership, team mentality, simplicity & quality, and youthful spirit – play a key role. They form the guiding principle for day-to-day cooperation and are intended to foster a spirit of mutual trust. The aim is to create an environment that enables all employees to develop their individual talents and thus directly contributes to the successful execution of “CLAIM 5”. Furthermore, HUGO BOSS intends to continue to position itself as one of the most attractive employers in the industry, thus attracting the best talent in the industry. Group Strategy

As an international company, diversity is a fundamental part of the corporate culture at HUGO BOSS. All employees are guaranteed a discrimination-free working environment and equal opportunities. To take account of the importance of diversity also from an organizational point of view, the position of Head of Global Diversity and Inclusion was established and successfully filled for the first time in 2021. In addition, an internal task force supports the execution of defined measures. Through this task force, employees from different locations and functional areas further promote selected topics within the Company, such as inclusion or diversity in management positions. HUGO BOSS firmly believes that intensifying its activities in the area of diversity contributes positively to employee satisfaction and is also considered a relevant factor by potential applicants. Combined Non‑Financial Statement, Employee Matters

Attracting talent

HUGO BOSS strives to further strengthen its position as top employer within its industry. This is intended to enable the Company to continue attracting the best talents for HUGO BOSS. The Company’s global recruitment strategy is particularly focused at directly approaching qualified candidates. In addition, talents are to be acquired through a targeted group-specific approach via digital platforms, such as the HUGO BOSS careers website, or social networks. Consequently, the continuous development of digital communication channels is a key focus in employee recruitment. The global employer branding campaign “That’s my HUGO BOSS”, builds a core element of the Company’s digital recruitment activities, aimed at drawing the attention of talents around the world to the broad range of activities and diverse personalities at HUGO BOSS. The Company also regularly presents itself to potential applicants at career fairs.

To attract young talent, the Company offers school graduates, students and young professionals a variety of different programs, including a diverse range of apprenticeships and a broad selection of dual study programs. In the past year, there were 79 apprentices and dual students at HUGO BOSS AG (2020: 75 apprentices and dual students). 22 new apprentices and dual students started their professional education in 2021 (2020: 22 apprentices and dual students). The professional education offered at HUGO BOSS is tailored to its specific needs and is continuously aligned with the Company’s strategic priorities. In particular, HUGO BOSS has expanded its selection of apprenticeships in digital in recent years. In addition to the newly offered Digital Commerce Management study program, the International Business dual study program and IT Specialist education were again included in the program last year. Internships and the “CareerLunch” introduced in 2021 offer further opportunities to get young talent interested in working at HUGO BOSS during their studies. The program aims at bringing the Company together with top talents in an informal context and thus attracting potential applicants to HUGO BOSS by providing internal company insights. Various trainee programs complete the vast range of opportunities available for young professionals.

HUGO BOSS is seeking to constantly improve its external reputation and awareness among potential applicants. Consequently, the Company conducts active reputation management on relevant rating platforms and social networks. Target group-specific, emotional, and product-related campaigns are intended to foster enthusiasm for the Company. Various awards are proof positive for the successful personnel work at HUGO BOSS while at the same time serving to increase awareness of the Company among potential applicants. In 2021, HUGO BOSS was once again among the top 100 most attractive employers in Germany for relevant target groups, according to an annual survey conducted by the Trendence Institute. In the “Working in Fashion 2021” study conducted by the German industry magazine TextilWirtschaft, HUGO BOSS again achieved a very good ranking in the past fiscal year, taking fifth place (2020: third place). The Company ranked particularly well in the categories of mobile working and salary levels, taking second place in both categories. In addition, on the basis of an independent study in collaboration with Statista and the Financial Times, in 2021, HUGO BOSS was once again ranked among the top 100 Diversity Leaders in Europe.

Retaining and developing employees

HUGO BOSS firmly believes that leadership mentality has a significant influence on the Company’s performance, innovative capability, and commitment of employees and teams, and thus makes an important contribution to achieving the targets set out in the “CLAIM 5” strategy. In addition, the Company considers a good leadership culture to be a key enabler in sustainably increasing employee satisfaction. Accordingly, in 2021, HUGO BOSS further developed its concept of leadership mindset. Leaders should thus primarily act as enablers who provide their employees with a framework for their daily work, offer them support and, at the same time, encourage them to regularly surpass themselves. In addition, leaders at HUGO BOSS are expected to connect people and teams and to strengthen the team spirit and sense of togetherness. Regular workshops aim to firmly anchor the leadership mindset in the Company, supporting a uniform understanding of leadership at HUGO BOSS.

In addition to vertical promotions, HUGO BOSS considers internal job changes across departments and divisions as an important instrument for promoting talents and retaining employees for as long as possible. The digital employee recommendation program “HUGO BOSS Spotted” provides a transparent recommendation process to support the appropriate filling of vacancies by internal talent. In order to further boost the motivation, commitment and qualification of employees, the Group also offers a wide range of training and development opportunities. These are described in detail in the section entitled “Combined Non-Financial Statement”. Combined Non‑Financial Statement, Employee Matters

HUGO BOSS regards fair pay as an essential aspect of its personnel work and aims to strengthen the motivation of its employees and their loyalty to the Company by means of a fair, transparent and competitive compensation structure. Based on a regular assessment of all jobs in Germany as well as Group-wide key positions, a large number of employees are already remunerated on the basis of job-specific salary bands. These are based on external salary benchmarks and are intended to further increase transparency. In 2021, HUGO BOSS also carried out an assessment of nearly all positions worldwide in order to establish a uniform compensation system in the future that is based on Group-wide salary bands. This is intended to ensure that the Group-wide compensation system is fair, competitive, and fundamentally independent of gender or other diversity characteristics. The Company sees this as a key factor in further increasing both, employee satisfaction and its attractiveness as an employer.

The compensation system at HUGO BOSS includes fixed and variable salary components, bonuses above the collective bargaining scale, non-cash compensation, and other benefits. It complies with industry and collective bargaining agreements and incorporates national and regional benchmarks. There are also works agreements for HUGO BOSS AG that govern compensation components such as the employee performance bonus. In addition to their basic salary, non-tariff employees receive a 13th monthly salary instalment and a short-term incentive (STI) linked to annual Company targets. The compensation scheme at the two levels below the Managing Board also includes a long-term incentive program (LTI) that extends over several years and matches the targets of the Managing Board. Compensation Report

In order to offer its employees an additional incentive, HUGO BOSS is planning to introduce an employee share purchase plan in the first half of 2022. This will give full-time employees the opportunity to purchase HUGO BOSS shares at regular intervals at a discount and thus participate directly in the Company’s success.

NEW Spirit

Our entrepreneurial spirit, our team mentality, and the strong passion of our more than 14,000 employees are key to the successful execution of “CLAIM 5”.

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HUGO BOSS offers its employees a wide range of options to strengthen work-life balance. Numerous initiatives for the flexible design of working methods enable the majority of employees at the Metzingen campus to work in an agile and cross-functional manner, also with the help of flexible and modern office concepts. Already back in 2020, HUGO BOSS introduced the hybrid working concept called “Threedom of Work”, which applies to administrative staff in Germany. The concept provides for three days of attendance at the Company’s Metzingen site from Tuesday to Thursday, while employees are free to choose their work location on the other two days. While similar models have already been established in other Group companies, the conventional home office concept is now available to almost all of the Company’s administrative employees. In addition, trust-based working hours and individual part-time models complement the offering at HUGO BOSS and are intended to contribute to both increased employee retention and satisfaction. In addition, HUGO BOSS promotes the compatibility of work and private life in the form of numerous family-friendly offers, which are described in more detail in the section “Combined Non-Financial Statement”. Combined Non‑Financial Statement, Employee Matters

HUGO BOSS also attaches great importance to promoting the health and performance of its employees, including numerous activities to improve the physical and mental health. For example, employees in Germany, Switzerland and Turkey can use Company-owned fitness centers free of charge and participate in a wide range of different sports courses. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sport and coaching program at the Metzingen site was offered primarily digitally also in 2021, while having been expanded in the areas of relaxation and mindfulness. In addition, a balanced nutritional concept in the Group’s own company restaurants is intended to improve the personal well-being of the employees. At the central distribution centers in Germany and for production employees in Metzingen, health measures are also in place in the form of movement breaks, massages, and back training courses. However, these were temporarily suspended in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to make a significant contribution to the fight against the pandemic, HUGO BOSS offered voluntary vaccinations to employees in 2021 at locations including Metzingen (Germany), Coldrerio (Switzerland), and Izmir (Turkey). In total, several thousand doses of the vaccine were given to employees in the past fiscal year.

To improve employee retention in the long term, HUGO BOSS strives to strengthen the identification of its employees with the Company and its goals. A variety of internal communication measures are intended to contribute to this, aimed at strengthening the exchange both, among employees and between employees and management. In addition to regular Managing Board newsletters and video messages, this also includes the opportunity to enter into direct discussions with the members of the Managing Board as part of internal events. In 2021, the Company also further developed its own employee app “My HUGO BOSS” in order to further strengthen global communication within the organization by offering numerous opportunities for feedback and interaction. Content tailored to the app on all key topics – from news about the BOSS and HUGO brands and the global store network to sustainability topics – is communicated in real time to employees in 36 countries (2020: 20 countries). The app also offers employees various digital conveniences, such as quick access to emails, digital business cards or the internal job network. The Company’s internal network “connect” serves as an additional relevant communication platform. Important news about the Company and its brands, enriched with livestreams and videos, but also external content, such as industry news, are regularly made available to employees via this channel.

HUGO BOSS determines the satisfaction and the needs of its employees as part of an employee survey conducted annually in cooperation with Great Place to Work^® Germany. The findings provide the Company with important impetus for the further development of its human resources work and corporate culture. Employee satisfaction at HUGO BOSS also represents an important component of the compensation within the long-term incentive program (LTI). With a Group-wide participation rate of 62%, overall employee satisfaction rose to 76% in 2021 (2020: overall satisfaction of 72% with a participation rate of 70%). This means that the Company has achieved its target of increasing Group-wide overall satisfaction to 75% by 2025 ahead of schedule. HUGO BOSS intends to at least maintain this strong level in the future. Combined Non‑Financial Statement, Employee Matters

Employee figures

At the end of fiscal year 2021, HUGO BOSS had 14,041 employees. The number of employees was thus above the level of the prior year (2020: 13,759 employees). The average age of the workforce remained unchanged at 37 years.

The Company’s global positioning is also reflected in its workforce. In 2021, 78% of the Group’s employees were based outside Germany (2020: 78%). Within Germany, employees from 79 different nations worked for HUGO BOSS (2020: 70 nations). While 9,862 employees (2020: 9,647) worked in the commercial sector at the end of 2021, 4,179 employees (2020: 4,112) were assigned to industrial activities.

With a share of 60%, women continued to make up the majority of the workforce at HUGO BOSS (2020: 60%) at year-end. In management, i.e. in all four management levels, 50% of positions were held by women at the end of December 2021, and thus remained unchanged from the prior year (2020: 50%). The Managing Board has set the target of achieving a proportion of women of at least 40% in the first management level below the Managing Board and at least 50% in the second management level by 2025. As of December 31, 2021, the proportion of women in the first management level was 29% and thus above the level of the previous year (December 31, 2020: 25%). The proportion of women at the second management level also increased further, standing at 45% as of December 31, 2021 (December 31, 2020: 43%). Corporate Governance and Corporate Governance Statement