Hugo Boss chairman Stephan Sturm steps down as Frasers Group seeks control

The UK retail group also owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has removed the chairman of Hugo Boss as it moves to tighten its grip on the German fashion giant.

The British retail conglomerate, which counts Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels among its portfolio, announced to shareholders on Monday that Stephan Sturm, chairman of Hugo Boss’ supervisory board, had agreed to stand down.

Ashley’s company said it had reached an agreement with the renowned German brand that this represents an “appropriate point in time for an orderly transition” of leadership, as reported by City AM.

“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 previously said it wants to grow that to above 50 per cent. Frasers launched a bid for £1.7bn for the whole of Hugo Boss in June, but this was rejected as “inadequate” by the board of the German firm.

Frasers appealed to shareholders in Hugo Boss, attracting some 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 Derbyshire-based 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.

Mr Sturm had been appointed as chairman of Hugo Boss’s supervisory board in May last year. His tenure was set to run until the end of the decade. City AM reports that 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.

Frasers added: “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.”