An Interesting Man: Matthew Keighran of Hugo Boss

As Managing Director for the Hugo Boss South East Asia and the Pacific, the amiable Matthew Keighran was recently in Auckland to help celebrate the opening of the new Hugo Boss store on Queen St. “We’re a company that works under a global scale. Each market has its own needs, products and marketing needs and we tailor these accordingly,” says Keighran.

The German powerhouse brand is known for it’s timeless tailoring, and bold use of print and colours making it a favourite amongst professionals for its no fuss workwear component. Not only that, but the sportswear line available in the new boutique consists of easy linen shirts, casual shorts and trainers for a slick off duty look that will resonate with many men in New Zealand this summer. “What we offer is excellent tailoring, the best fabrics, factories, design teams and pattern makers — all for a very reasonable price”.

We take a closer look at the store, the future of Hugo Boss and the man in charge of ensuring its future in New Zealand is a successful one. "I love the way the company allows for flexibility in different markets and acknowledging and acting on those differences," explains Keighran. "Of course we've got to keep our corporate identity, but we're a little more flexible on that."

Tell me about the Hugo Boss store here in Queen St. How much of the store and the offering has been tailored to the New Zealand market?

We still had our franchise store in Newmarket which was doing particularly well for us, and as soon as we set up a subsidiary, we wanted to look at opening up in downtown Auckland. So we were looking in the Queen St and Britomart precinct for quite a while and then this space came up and we thought this was the right time to come in. Ideally we would have liked to have had both menswear and womenswear, but because of the space, we decided to focus primarily on menswear and try and capture that professional market as well as the strong tourist component in that vicinity.

There's a strong suiting component along with a sportswear component, and that mix is what that particular customer is looking for. We also know from our previous experience what the New Zealand market is like, and there's a growing thirst for high end fashion. I've always seen New Zealand as being in line in terms of fashionability, and there are a lot of fashion forward customers here.
 
I noticed a strong presence of the brand in airports abroad. Do you think you'll expand into the Auckland International Airport soon?

Yes we are very interested in talking to the airport. We’re looking at opening in Sydney in March, Melbourne will come and eventually we’ll look into Auckland as the next obvious choice. Airport boutiques are something that’s interesting to us as a global brand, obviously the foot traffic is amazing and we certainly recognise that the travel retail component of the business is growing really fast. In the past we’ve been covered by different duty free consortiums, but now the airports are asking that the principle brand takes more ownership as we provide the immediate product knowledge, the service that comes with that and the replenishment factor, which is a large part of that.

Why is the time right now to expand in New Zealand?

The first couple of years in my role was making sure that the Australian stores were up to scratch, from implementing updated marketing initiatives to boutique renovations. Naturally after that we looked at how we could expand the presence and service within New Zealand. It was always on the radar, and the rime was right to discuss options with the franchisee looking after our Newmarket store. It made sense to us to try and find another location and to try and really develop the market. Setting up a subsidiary is now easy feat, but am glad that we were able to pull it off.

There are opportunities also in other cities. David Jones, of course, is also going into Wellington, and we have a long standing relationship with Smith & Caughey's which will continue. There are some interesting things happening in Christchurch, and a lot of interest in Queenstown.

This is quite a dynamic market. Economy here has picked up and New Zealander's are very aware of our brand, in fact New Zealanders make up about 10-15 percent of our sales alone in Australia. Its was time to give them what they were wanting and finding in Australia.

Hugo Boss seems to be going through a refresher and coming back strong, why the change of focus now?

I think the past 6-7 years we've focused a lot on strengthening our on retail networks. In the past it was very much a franchise business, so now the business is much more about taking back some control of the business and refreshing that brand awareness to a new generation. Having Jason Wu on board particularly for our womenswear has really given a new lease of life, with Australia and New Zealand being one of the strongest womenswear markets for us. It's been a long term strategy to really grow that business.

Tell us a little about the service on offer in store and what kind of experience the New Zealand market can expect.

The great thing is that when we worked with our previous franchise owners they had great staff there who did a fantastic job. We've taken on all of that staff and that knowledge that came with it. They've been working in the tailoring for a long time and their product knowledge is second to none. One of our managers, Erwin, who worked in our Newmarket store, has stepped up. It's a great opportunity for him as well, overseeing two stores and potentially more in the future so there's a wealth of knowledge and heritage here already. We also have very good womenswear sales associates in Newmarket offering a very high level of service.

China's luxury market has slowed down in pace in recent years. Has this picked up and how is that market performing for you now?

The travelling Chinese are huge consumers, and we're working across all the regions to ensure that we have marketing strategies in place to deliver the service that they require. There are certain things that they expect that perhaps domestic customers don’t. China is still an important market and its dominating not only this region but also all retail across the world, and for us its about working with that market and responding to those changing attitudes to shopping.

What sponsorship is the brand involved with and how important are these relationships to the brand awareness?

We've always been strong in terms of sponsorship for example the F1 motor circuit has always been there and we're strengthening our ties with the art world. We're working closely with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, sponsoring their Primevera with the emerging artist's programme. So that's actually showing now in Sydney. This is a great opportunity for us and we will look to do different things in different markets, even in New Zealand. Boss is also involved in sponsoring the Gugenheim Art Award in New York that's been going on since 1995, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016.

What's a typical day like for you?

I read all the sales figures from the day before and then I usually read the news online first thing in the morning. I then have different type of juice every morning. I also like my different teas. I’m then off trying to think about what I'm going to wear for the day, it’s important in my role to set an example and dress to represent the brand. It’s a 45 minute drive from where the office is so there's a lot of time to think and make calls (hands free of course). It really all depends on the day of the week.

The early part of the week is about the preceeding weeks' business, and then the second half of the week might be looking at the marketing strategies, things that need to be done further afield. I try to get out to the stores at least once a week as I think it's really important. You can sit around and look at numbers all day, but you really need to be in the stores, that's where you see where there might be issues or where things are successful. It's about understanding why something is working so well and trying to implement that into a store that's maybe underperforming. I like to see what the customers are interested in and also understand from the staff's perspective what's really challenging.

How do you like to relax?

I love good food and wine. I like to travel and am lucky to do so for work. I'll be heading to Brazil for Christmas and then on to Chile and Peru. I'm very excited about that. I was recently in Borneo for my birthday as I wanted to see the orangutangs. I love them.

Who are your personal style icons?

I always think George Clooney looks dapper and also very age appropriate. He always looks sharp. Diana Vreeland was also the epitome of elegance and new york chic, and I admired her sense of fashion. I'm drawn to that classic with a twist approach.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?

It's really about managing people and having everyone be part of a vision. You're only as strong as your weakest link. This means your team has to be with you and on the same page. If there's that one person that's not on the bus or doesn't quite gel, then they need to get off the bus. There's no room for egos.

• Hugo Boss menswear is now open, shop A, 44 Queen St, Auckland CBD.