Demand for Hermès bags remains ‘very high’
12/09/2019
The company has also grown its workforce over the period, with its number of employees now at 14,751, an increase of 7.1%. More than 9,000 of these people work in France. An increase in the company’s production capacities there continues, with the ground-breaking of the Maroquinerie
de Guyenne workshop near Bordeaux in June, scheduled for completion in 2020, and the announcement of a new workshop in Louviers to the west of Paris by 2021. Other expansion initiatives in France include the opening of a training centre in Fitilieu in the east of the country, and an extension of its glove-making workshop at Saint-Junien, near Limoges.
There was growth in all markets for Hermès over the six-month period, with rises of 6.7% in Europe, 16.2% in the Americas and almost 20% in Asia. With revenues there of €1.7 billion, Asia now accounts for more than half of total Hermès sales.
Revenue from sales of its leathergoods and saddlery products, which includes bags and small leathergoods, diaries and equestrian materials, was more than €1.6 billion, growth of 16%. Ready-to-wear and fashion accessories accounted for sales of €754.6 million, which represents growth of 18.4%. Hermès includes shoes, belts and gloves in this division.
The company said on releasing the results that growth in leathergoods and saddlery was thanks to the style, know-how and diversity of materials that have gone into its collections. “Demand remains very high, for the classics and other models,” Hermès said.
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