Britain’s Frasers Group announced on Wednesday that it had made another strategic investment in German high-end fashion giant Hugo Boss AG through the further sale of ‘put options’ over Hugo Boss’s shares.

A put option is a financial contract in which the holder has the right to sell an asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date (in this case June 2027). 

It means Frasers Group holds over 13.5 million shares of the German firm’s common stock, raising its stake to 19.2% of its total share capital. And the stake could be raised to up to 16.7 million shares of common stock through the sale of put options, or up to 23.7% of the total share capital of Hugo Boss.

The company said its “maximum aggregate exposure in connection with its net acquired interests” in Hugo Boss, at the closing share price on Wednesday is approximately €1.02 billion or around £850 million, covering over 30.2 million shares if the put options were exercised in full.

The company stressed — as it has said before — that it makes “strategic investments in the ordinary course of its business to develop relationships and partnerships with other retailers and to build relationships with key suppliers and brands”. In other words, this isn’t a general move towards a takeover attempt.

It added that it “remains a long-term investor in Hugo Boss and the board of directors of Frasers Group”believes that the HB Strategic Investment will create value for the company’s shareholders, as its strategic investments in Hugo Boss have done in the past”.  

Hugo Boss shares closed Wednesday at €35.43 each. That gave the company a value of €2.56 billion. But the share price — and market value — is down almost 33% in the past year, although it’s up 62% in five years.

Frasers CEO Michael Murray has been nominated for election to the Supervisory Board of Hugo Boss in May.

We know Mother’s Day was a big draw for physical retail with footfall and sales ahead of last year, but The Perfume Shop looks to have taken performance to a different level.

Claiming the top spot as the UK’s largest specialist perfume retailer, its sales in the lead up to Mother’s Day on 30 March “went above and beyond” with 280,916 bottles sold across the wider 9-30 March trading period.

What’s more, the week leading up to the day was up 56% on a year ago. That helped push overall sales up 14% on 2024.

Top 10 sellers were led by Lancôme La Vie Est Belle, followed by Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Yves Saint Laurent Libre, Prada Paradoxe, Carolina Herrera Good Girl, Mugler Alien, Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium, Chanel No5, Dior Miss Dior and Mugler Angel.

Digging deeper, The Perfume Shop said sales were driven by a 30% increase in sales of classic perfumes, 3% in new and trending perfumes and a 2% increase in gift sets compared to 2024. 

Promotional deals also proved popular with the website’s busiest day on Tuesday (25 March) seeing a 69% increase in perfume purchases compared to last year. Some 35% of all orders last week were customers making the most of the next-day delivery service.

Also, the retailer’s personalisation services were in demand, delivering over 43,688 ribbons (21,500 of these being sold last week) and 1,091 engraved bottles in the three weeks running up to Mother’s Day.

Karen Harris, Customer director from The Perfume Shop said: “Perfume is such a personal and lasting gift, and this year’s sales have truly reflected that, with a remarkable uplift in both classic and trending scents. Our personalisation services have also been more popular than ever, showing just how much thought goes into selecting the perfect perfume.”

Antler has enjoyed success over the past three years and hit annual sales of £45 million, but now the British travel brand has set its sights on further growth to become a £100 million brand by fiscal 2029.

That will involve continued investment in “brand, product, and people” with further expansion into new categories beyond luggage, Antler said as it announced its latest trading figures.

The ambitious outlook is underpinned by a third consecutive year of double-digit growth across FY22 to FY25, as the business ended its FY25 trading year (1 March 2024 to 29 February 2025) with those global sales of £45 million.

The UK remains the brand’s highest-performing market, which has seen 120% growth across key strategic wholesale partners including John Lewis, Selfridges and Fenwick. They now represent over 50% of total sales, up 16% on last year.

But also key to targeting £100 million sales is the physical expansion into the US and Australia that began in 2024 with the opening of two retail locations in New York and Sydney. 

US ops were up 43% in FY25, supported by launches with department stores Bloomingdales and Nordstrom, while Australia, which continues to be Antler’s second-largest market at 40% of the sales mix, also saw year-on-year growth of 7%.

It said FY25 “marked the convergence of Antler’s brand reimagination and a renewed product strategy, brought to life for the first time with the launch of the Icon Stripe collection in April 2024”. It has become the brand’s best-selling collection and was the first to be designed under the leadership of managing director Kirsty Glenne.

For the FY26 trading year, a strategic focus on travel bags and accessories is forecast to grow the brand’s portfolio by 310% by the end of 2025. This month also sees the launch of the brand’s most premium collection. Two years in the making, the new Heritage Collection becomes “an ode to the brand’s 110-year travel and design legacy”, it said.

According to Glenne: “Antler had a transformative year in 2024 following the launch of our Icon collection, cementing our position as the cult British travel brand. 

“In 2025, we’re dedicated to continuing our expansion into lifestyle, by diversifying our product offering with a strong focus on bags. As part of our global expansion strategy, we will also be investing heavily in new markets as we continue to grow across the US, Australia and RoW.”

And it plans to “redefine consumer expectations and continue expansion into new categories… FY26 is set to be the brand’s most exciting and innovative year yet,” she added.