German luxury fashion house Hugo Boss opened its Ksh 173.1 million store at the Westgate Mall to capture a growing wealthier Kenyan middle class who opt for global branded fashion.
Kenya will be the gateway to the East Africa market for the 94-year-old fashion house which has 31 stores in 26 countries across Africa according to Hugo Boss Africa region team leader Andreas Pfeiffer.
“We decided to start the Nairobi outlet with our anchor brand then expand in the future,” said Andreas Pfeiffer, the Hugo Boss head of Africa operations.
“We have started with men’s line as the anchor in Kenya as we test the market. We will introduce the ladies line and Hugo for the young trendy customers as we get to better understand the Kenyan market,” Pfeiffer said.
According to the 2018 Knight Frank Wealth Report, the number of high net-worth individuals in Kenya worth at least USD 5.0 mn excluding their primary residence increased by 16.2% to 1,290 in 2017 from 1,110 in 2016 and is expected to grow by 60.5% by 2022.
Official opening Hugo Boss Store Nairobi #thisisboss pic.twitter.com/qYNQ7YlFXq
— FAZAL LUXURY BOUTIQUE (@fazal_luxury) November 16, 2018
Hugo Boss currently operates 31 stores across 26 countries in Africa and 127 stores globally.
Their entry comes after the recent opening by Spanish fashion house Mango, that launched its first store in Eastern and Southern Africa, still at the Westgate Mall.
In its 2022 strategic plan, Hugo Boss plans to focus on personalization and speed to further drive brand desirability with expectations “To increase Group sales by an average of between 5% and 7% per year on a currency-adjusted basis.”
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Personalization: The company will substantially expand its focus on personalized offerings. The intent is to increase customer satisfaction sustainably by employing a more individualized customer approach, a personalized product range, and a unique shopping experience.
Speed: Hugo Boss will make its business processes considerably more agile. This will enable the company to react to customer needs and to new market trends even more quickly and flexible in the future.
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Cytonn Investments says the continued expansion of global retailers demonstrates the attractiveness of Kenya as an investment destination.
“We expect global retailers to continue showing interest in the Kenyan retail sector, mainly attracted by the rise in disposable incomes, change in consumer tastes and preferences, and fast economic growth enabled by infrastructural developments,” Cytonn states.
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