Stephan Sturm steps down as Hugo Boss chairman as Frasers Group tightens its grip

Stephan Sturm has agreed to step down as chairman of the Hugo Boss supervisory board, ending his resistance to Frasers Group's push for control of the German fashion house. Hugo Boss said Sturm would remain in place until a successor is elected in the coming weeks, and will leave the supervisory board entirely on 15 October.

The move follows what Hugo Boss described as constructive discussions prompted by recent changes in its shareholder structure. Frasers, the retail group controlled by Mike Ashley, has raised its holding to 33,054,959 shares, or 47.89 percent of the company, after a summer takeover attempt that fell just short of full control.

Frasers launched that bid in June at 38 euros per share, a price Sturm argued was designed chiefly to let Frasers cross the 30 percent threshold that triggers a mandatory bid under German law. The Hugo Boss board recommended shareholders reject it, arguing the offer undervalued the company, and Sturm separately said it failed to capture the brand's future value creation potential.

Sturm joined the supervisory board in May 2025 and took the chairmanship soon after.

In its own statement, Frasers said it had recently held talks with Sturm about the composition of, and an increase in, its representation on the supervisory board, and that both sides had mutually agreed he should step down. It framed the moment as Hugo Boss entering a new chapter in its corporate history.

What the departure terms include

Frasers said chief executive Michael Murray, who is Ashley's son-in-law, will be joined on the supervisory board by a second representative, Robert Palmer, the group's company secretary and one of Ashley's longtime advisers. That gives Frasers two seats on the board overseeing Hugo Boss's management.

Sturm called the chairmanship a privilege and said he had always understood his role as serving the best interests of the company and all its shareholders. He said the shareholder structure change made this the right time for an orderly transition, and described Hugo Boss as well positioned for future success.

Sinan Piskin, deputy chairman of the supervisory board, thanked Sturm for his leadership, commitment and dedication to the company. Piskin said the board respected his decision and would work closely with him to ensure a smooth transition, while remaining focused on supporting management and creating long-term value for shareholders.

Frasers, for its part, thanked Sturm for his contribution to Hugo Boss and said it intends to work with him in future, a notably warmer tone than the language used during the summer's bid battle. The retailer had made clear earlier this month that it wanted Sturm gone.

That warning is now moot given the new board arrangement.

We covered Frasers Group's return for a majority stake in Hugo Boss after Ashley's initial summer takeover attempt fell short, and the retail group's subsequent move to lift its holding to 48 percent despite the board's rejection of its cash offer. Sturm's exit is the clearest sign yet that resistance has not held.

Frasers has been expanding its luxury retail footprint beyond Hugo Boss this year. The group agreed in August to buy Harvey Nichols out of administration, a rescue we reported at the time alongside its earlier deal to acquire the department store chain out of insolvency proceedings.

That pattern, building stakes and then converting influence into board control, mirrors how Frasers approached its Hugo Boss position: raise the shareholding first, negotiate the governance changes second. The removal of a chairman who publicly opposed the retailer's advances fits that same sequence.

Hugo Boss has not said who it expects to nominate as Sturm's successor, only that the process will run over the coming weeks. Sturm's formal exit from the supervisory board on 15 October marks the deadline by which the German company needs an agreed replacement in place.

With close to 48 percent of the shares and two seats on the supervisory board, Frasers is now positioned to shape the next chairman's selection even without having crossed the 50 percent line. Whether that appointment goes to a Frasers-aligned figure or a compromise candidate will be the next signal to watch.

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Image: Hugo Boss