Home NEWS Hugo Boss Textile Industries Finds Booming Business Ecosystem on Workation in Vilnius

Hugo Boss Textile Industries Finds Booming Business Ecosystem on Workation in Vilnius

Jul 15, 2019

Hugo Boss Textile Industries team, the most recent addition to companies choosing Vilnius as their workation destination, was surprised by welcoming the city’s approach, business scene, locals, and general quality of life.

“The city has become a platform by itself”

Hugo Boss Textile Industries spent their workation in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. The annual retreat tradition to calmly plan their next year and draw inspiration for their currently-developing project without the day-to-day responsibilities has been an overwhelming success. A 16 person team was surprised by the city‘s welcoming approach, booming local business scene, highly educated and cultured people, and even the air quality.

Vilnius has been putting the effort in establishing itself as an under the radar workation destination. To do so, the city has launched a project dedicated to workations, Workation Vilnius. The program offers companies a chance to win a week-long workation in the Lithuanian capital, with covered traveling, accommodation, and office space expenses. Most importantly, the visiting company is introduced to the local business scene and senior industry professionals to network and learn about locally developed projects.

Naim Kutlu

Head of Communications at Hugo Boss Textile Industries

“We chose Vilnius because the city doesn‘t hide the fact they have big ambitions moving forward,” said Naim Kutlu, Head of Communications at Hugo Boss Textile Industries. “In a way, the city has become a platform by itself: a lot of resources are being invested in attracting investments and creating an ecosystem where international companies could flourish with as little legislative hassle as possible. We wanted to spend time in a place which is full of booming local and international businesses and initiatives, and we got exactly that.“

“After getting familiar with the local business environment, one thing stood out the most – the local people. Vilnius is filled with highly-educated and creative individuals, and this is central when it comes to building anything of value. Technology is driving change, but it is the people who make any technology possible,“ commented Kutlu.

“Most of us didn‘t know much about the city before coming here, but we have explored a very safe, very green, very compact city – we enjoyed it immensely. But what struck us the most was the cleanliness of the air in Vilnius. We are all well-traveled, but it is rather rare to take a deep breath of such fresh air in any European capital,“ added Kutlu.

While staying in Vilnius, the visiting company seized opportunities to learn from local and international organizations operating in Vilnius: Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, Western Union,Invest Lithuania, Wix, Blockchain Center, and Women Go Tech.

Apart from networking and learning from local entrepreneurs, guests experienced some of the reasons why local residents are satisfied with their life quality in the Lithuanian capital.

The visiting company has been in the textile production industry since 1999 and is currently responsible for producing up to 50% of Hugo Boss apparel for men and women. Twenty years of successful work in a highly-saturated market has taught the company indispensable knowledge, and they see it as an untapped resource. The goal of the trip was to crystalize the strategy of creating a platform which would help other businesses thrive.

In the past, other prominent companies have experienced Vilnius as an excellent choice for workation. Expedia Group, BT Group, and OrderYOYO visited Vilnius under the Vilnius Workation program last year, and this year’s winners will be announced at the end of July. More than 50 companies have applied for a chance to win a workation in Vilnius, highlighting the growing popularity of the Lithuanian capital among businesses.