Hugo Boss CEO bullish on Chinese market despite global downturn in fashion

China remains a growth opportunity for Hugo Boss, a German fashion brand, as the company continues to explore ways to meet the needs of Chinese consumers, said CEO Daniel Grieder.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Grieder said that despite declining consumer sentiment around the world, companies can still find new ways to reach customers.

"If you talk about straight into the market and the global situation, it's a challenge and you have to consider it. It's a fact wherever you go, consumer sentiment is down. They are careful how they spend and that is affecting, I think, all the industries. Everybody is thinking, I'll wear my blazer another season, or I'll drive my car another year and so on. So that is a fact. However, I think you always, and in a crisis, you can always say you have more opportunities, and you can seek for opportunities," he said.

Grieder remains optimistic about finding such opportunities in China, as the European brand explores strategies to build its relationship with shoppers in the country.

"It's at the moment also more difficult than it was in the past, but it remains a growth opportunity in China. I think we, as a brand, we just have to find a new approach, how to approach the customer in China. And it's very simple. We are a European brand. We cannot just say what is good in Europe is also good in China. So we adapt also to the China needs," the CEO said.

He also stressed that Hugo Boss has learned much from Chinese counterparts whose business methods work well in the Chinese market, including the trend of selling products directly through social media.

"We learn a lot how they do it. We have to learn it. The social commerce, that comes from China and selling on TV and all that. We never experienced that. But in China, it's working. It's very important. And I think it's only a question of time where, and it's happening now, that Chinese brand also come to Europe and to the States. I expected that already 10 years ago that this is going to happen. And now you see, and I think that's great," he said.

Hugo Boss CEO bullish on Chinese market despite global downturn in fashion

Yemen's Houthi group said on Saturday that international shipping through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait remained near normal even as intense ground fighting raged along its shores.

In a statement released through Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, the group said 73 international vessels, including container ships and other commercial vessels, crossed the strait over the previous 48 hours.

It said 36 vessels transited the waterway on Thursday and 37 on Friday, equivalent to 98.6 percent of the average daily traffic recorded before the Houthis imposed a ban on Saudi vessels on July 20.

The group noted that international navigation remained "free, safe and smooth," while stressing that Saudi vessels remained excluded.

Houthi forces on Friday consolidated control over Yemen's western coast and key areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, following their capture of the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha a day earlier.

Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a critical gateway for trade and energy shipments between Asia and Europe.

Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

Yemen's Houthis say Bab al-Mandab Strait shipping near normal despite fighting