Hugo Boss Nordic has admitted to violating competition law through participation in anti-competitive agreements. The company has incurred a penalty of 12 million Danish kroner (1.8 million US dollars), while two members of its management have each been fined 120,000 Danish kroner for their roles in the infringement.

Hugo Boss improperly shared information with its two retailers, Kaufmann and Ginsborg, concerning pricing, discounts, and/or quantities for upcoming sales. While Hugo Boss supplies products to both retailers, it also competes with them by selling its merchandise in its own stores.

Hugo Boss shared sensitive information with Kaufmann and Ginsborg concerning pricing, discount rates, sale schedules, quantities, and particular items available in Hugo Boss’ retail outlets. This allowed the two retailers to modify their promotional approach, determining which products to discount, which to omit from discounts, and the timing of sales events.

The unlawful exchange of information between Hugo Boss and Kaufmann took place from January 2014 to November 2017, whereas the exchange with Ginsborg occurred from December 2014 to April 2018.

In 2020, the Danish Competition Council determined that multiple clothing retailers had breached competition law. Subsequently, both the Competition Appeals Tribunal and the Maritime and Commercial Court have upheld the finding that the exchange of information was unlawful. Kaufmann has previously incurred a penalty of DKK 6 million related to this case.

Any person or company affected by these companies’ anti-competitive behaviour may bring the matter before the courts and seek damages, individually or collectively. Consumers have likely overpaid for their clothing and other Boss items, especially due to their inability to fully take advantage of sales events and discounts.