What HML Modemarketing does

HML Modemarketing (legal entity: HML Modemarketing Dr. Leichum & Partner GmbH) is a German fashion and lifestyle market-research and consulting firm headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. Founded in 1970 by Dr. Hans Leichum and led since 1994 by Dr. Ulla Ertelt as sole managing partner and shareholder, the firm serves the full German fashion value chain — manufacturers, specialty retailers, chain stores, mail-order companies, verticals, and buyers' associations. The company's operating model is built on a single core asset: the proprietary Dr. Leichum HML-Modemarketing Target-Group System©, a multi-dimensional consumer segmentation framework classifying fashion buyers by fashion degree (trendy, modern, classic-conservative, price-oriented), demand level (higher, middle, price market), and qualitative/quantitative features.

Underlying that framework is a quarterly field-research engine: 1,800 representative in-home face-to-face interviews per cycle conducted by approximately 300 trained interviewers, executed four times per year (February, June, August, December). The HML-SINUS cooperative System layers SINUS-Milieus® social-lifestyle data on top of this consumer research, sold as the Special Interest Package - Fashion. Supporting services include collection and area planning, lifestyle studies, location analyses, individual surveys, fashion-and-system consultation, and the HML 3D Approach (integrating market trends, buying behavior, and fashion trends by target group and season). The HML-Index is a retail-sales index covering approximately EUR 6 billion in annual specialty-store turnover.

Commercially, HML operates as a sales-led B2B consultancy with multi-year consulting contracts and custom-quoted pricing (no public tiers). Revenue mixes professional-services consulting, syndicated retail-data licensing (HML-Index), and packaged research products (Special Interest Package - Fashion). The firm has 1-10 employees, no external institutional ownership, and operates solely within Germany.

Name

HML Modemarketing

Legal name

HML Modemarketing Dr. Leichum & Partner GmbH

Website

https://hml-modemarketing.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HML Modemarketing is a German fashion and lifestyle market-research and consulting firm operating since 1970 from Frankfurt, serving manufacturers, retailers, and buyers' associations with a proprietary Target-Group System and quarterly 1,800-respondent in-home consumer surveys.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Market Research Services: Providing regularly collected information on target groups' buying behaviors and lifestyles through qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Services include lifestyle studies, market development analysis, location analyses, fashion consultation, and individual surveys.
2. HML-SINUS Fashion Package: Special Interest Package combining SINUS-Milieus with HML Target-Group System for fashion industry, available separately for women's and men's fashion markets.
3. Consulting Services: Market research-based consulting including 3D Approach integrating market trends, buying behavior, and fashion trends per target group/season for collection and product range optimization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

HML Modemarketing delivers B2B market research and consulting services for the fashion and lifestyle industry, centered on its proprietary Dr. Leichum HML-Modemarketing Target-Group System©. The company conducts quarterly in-home survey research with 1,800 representative interviews covering fashion, textile, garment, accessories, and shoe categories, and provides trend analyses, lifestyle studies, collection and area planning systems, and the HML Index sales tracker to fashion manufacturers, retailers, and industry associations in Germany.

Product overview

HML Modemarketing is a German market research institute specializing in the fashion and lifestyle sector. The company operates a single unified offering centered on its proprietary Dr. Leichum HML-Modemarketing Target-Group System©, a multi-dimensional consumer segmentation framework. The core product portfolio consists of quarterly basic market research (1,800 in-home interviews), the cooperative HML-SINUS System combining SINUS-Milieus® lifestyle data with HML's fashion consumer research, and the Special Interest Package - Fashion. Supporting add-on services include Target-Group Lifestyle Analysis, Fashion Trends per Target Groups, Collection and Area Planning System, Lifestyle Studies, Market Development analyses, Location Analyses, Individual Surveys, Fashion and System Consultation, and Individual Market Research. The company also publishes the HML Index, tracking fashion retail sales data. The HML 3D Approach methodology framework integrates market research insights with consultation for collection planning. All offerings are built upon the foundational target-group segmentation system that classifies consumers across fashion degree, demand level, and lifestyle characteristics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dr. Leichum HML-Modemarketing Target-Group System© A multi-dimensional target-group segmentation system developed in 1970 that classifies fashion consumers based on fashion degree (trendy, modern, classic-conservative, price-oriented), level of demand (higher market, middle market, price market), and additional qualitative and quantitative features (distribution channels, purposes of use, demographics). It is sold/trademarked as a proprietary foundation for fashion-industry research and consulting engagements with manufacturers, retailers, and associations.
• HML-SINUS System A cooperative system combining HML's target-group research with SINUS-Milieus©, providing integrated market analysis of lifestyle environments, fashion styles, and consumer/media behavior updated quarterly. Offered to fashion-industry clients seeking a combined lifestyle-plus-fashion segmentation view.
• Special Interest Package - Fashion A combined data package offering current SINUS-Milieus© and HML Target-Group System analysis specifically for fashion industry marketing and product management, available as a separately orderable package for women's and men's fashion markets.
• Basic Market Research Continuous quarterly target-group research conducted four times per year (February, June, August, December) with 1,800 in-home interviews using representative samples and face-to-face methodology to track purchasing behavior in clothing, shoes, accessories, and lifestyle categories for fashion-industry clients.
• Collection Method / Market Research Layout Structured survey methodology covering women's outerwear, men's outerwear, shoes, accessories, costume jewelry, underwear, distribution channels, and buying occasions, with 300 trained interviewers collecting actual purchase data and receipts from in-home interviews.
• Target-Group Lifestyle Analysis Qualitative and quantitative analysis of target-group lifestyles integrating 102 features and values covering lifestyle behavior, buying patterns, cultural environments, media behavior, and brand preferences. Used by fashion companies to refine audience understanding for marketing and product decisions.
• Fashion Trends per Target Groups Analysis of fashion trends organized by target groups and seasons, examining material, color, and silhouette preferences to enable trend-oriented optimization of collection development for fashion manufacturers and retailers.
• Collection and Area Planning System A closed planning and control system for determining required collection sizes based on shop size, delivery units, and square meter performance, calculating collection size, markup, annual limits, and planned opening inventory for fashion retailers.
• HML 3D Approach Integrated market research and consultation methodology combining three dimensions: market trends (merchandise group and price class preferences), buying behavior (monthly expenditure analysis), and fashion trends (material, color, silhouette) for demand-based and trend-adequate collection planning for fashion-industry clients.
• HML Index Current sales figures for fashion specialty retailers, tracking DOB (women's outerwear) and HAKA (men's outerwear) performance based on inventory management systems covering approximately 6 billion euros in annual sales. Distributed via HML's website and updates.
• Lifestyle Studies Qualitative lifestyle research analyzing consumer needs and motifs covering demographics, clothing style, wearing behavior, shopping behavior, brand awareness, lifestyles, values, communication, architecture, home living, and culture. Used by fashion and lifestyle brands for qualitative insight work.
• Market Development Analysis Forecasts, product-range analyses, price-class analyses, distribution channel analysis, and product development time series for strategic market planning for fashion-industry clients.
• Location Analyses Site analysis including potential calculations, image comparisons, target-group percentages, competitor analyses, and individual custom questions for retail location decisions for fashion retailers and chain stores.
• Individual Surveys Custom survey options including regular survey participation with proprietary questions, phone surveys, expert surveys, POS surveys, passer-by surveys, and focus groups conducted locally, regionally, or nationally for fashion and lifestyle clients.
• Individual Market Research Custom market research projects developed according to specific client needs, including questionnaire development and survey execution, available as add-on to the regular quarterly survey subscriptions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up to 98% representative coverage of German fashion and lifestyle market
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• SINUS InstitutcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperative HML-SINUS System analyzing fashion behavior within Sinus Milieus. The partnership combines HML's quarterly quantitative and qualitative market research on clothing and buying behavior with SINUS's social Milieu approach, creating a closed representation of lifestyles, fashion styles, and consumption/media behavior.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Trendalytics: AI-driven fashion trend and demand forecasting platform. Comparable in serving fashion brands with forward-looking trend and assortment insight, but from a digital analytics angle rather than primary consumer research.
• Edited: Digital-first fashion market intelligence platform using real-time product, pricing, and assortment data. Comparable as a provider of fashion-specific market intelligence, but competing via technology rather than survey-based methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Ipsos: Global market research and public opinion firm with dedicated consumer shopper and fashion/beauty practices. Comparable in delivering consumer insights to fashion and lifestyle brands, but as a broad incumbent rather than a fashion-specialist.
• GfK (NielsenIQ): Large global consumer market research firm (now part of NielsenIQ) with deep retail and consumer panels including Germany. Comparable as a market research provider to fashion and consumer goods clients, but at much broader scale and with different methodology.
• Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach: Germany's leading public opinion research institute and HML's quota methodology partner. Comparable as a long-established German primary research provider, but with a broader public-opinion focus than HML's fashion specialization.
• Kantar: Global market research and insights firm with extensive retail and consumer panels. Comparable as an established research provider to fashion/CPG clients, but operating at much larger scale and broader scope than HML.

Direct peers

• Zukunftsinstitut: German trend and lifestyle research institute publishing consumer megatrends and target-group analyses. Comparable as a DACH-focused research and consulting firm serving consumer-facing industries with longitudinal consumer/lifestyle frameworks.
• BBE Handelsberatung: German retail and consumer goods consultancy producing market data, branch reports, and location analyses. Closely comparable to HML's retail-focused market development and location analysis services for fashion and lifestyle clients.
• SINUS Institut: SINUS is HML's actual strategic partner and operates social milieu research for Germany and beyond. It is comparable as a market research institute with a similar lifestyle-segmentation methodology that combines with HML's fashion-specific buyer behavior data.

Others

• Textilwirtschaft (dfv): Germany's leading fashion trade publication, which regularly features HML analyses. Comparable as an information and intelligence provider serving the German fashion industry — adjacent channel rather than a direct research competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HML Modemarketing