[BERLIN] German fashion house Hugo Boss reported better-than-expected second-quarter sales and net profit on Wednesday after a restructuring plan to close stores and cut prices bore fruit and demand picked up in China and the United States. After a string of profit warnings and the departure of its chief executive, Hugo Boss has been slashing prices in China to bring them closer to European and US levels, making efforts to appeal to younger customers and closing loss-making stores. "Our strategic realignment is beginning to take effect... We made considerable headway in the United States and in online business in particular," Mark Langer, the former finance chief who took over as chief executive last year, said in a statement. Sales rose 2 per cent to 636 million euros (S$1.02 billion), while net profit jumped fivefold to 57.6 million euros, beating average analyst forecasts for 619 million euros and 53 million euros respectively.