Hermes overtakes French bank in market value
France-based fashion house Hermes International has overtaken Societe Generale SA, the country's second-biggest bank, by market value.
Hermes's market value is 55% greater than Societe Generale’s, even though it has 5% of the staff and 8% of the revenue of the lender, according to Bloomberg data.
“Hermes market cap is valuing each and every one of its very competent staff at a mere EUR3.3 million per head as it is indeed extremely demanding to turn 700 odd bits of leather into a useful bag,” said Pierre-Yves Gauthier, head of research at Alphavalue SAS in Paris. “SocGen employees have a history of breaking the bank so they are worth only about 110,000.”
Hermes has rallied 70% this year as LVMH increased its stake. Societe Generale has plunged 42% this year.
