Strong growth for Hermès in 2023
Luxury group Hermès published its full-year results for 2023 on February 9, reporting revenues of €13.4 billion, up by 15.7% year on year.
Its leathergoods and saddlery business contributed €5.5 billion to the total, increasing by 11.8% year on year. Hermès counts sales of other leather items, including shoes, belts and gloves in its clothing and accessories category, for which it reported revenues of nearly €3.9 billion, an increase of 23.1% year on year.
Hermès said that sales in its own shops had increased by 20% and that its wholesale business had grown by 24% year on year, boosted by sales to tourists and business travellers.
Its sales in Japan rose by 14.5% year on year, reaching €1.25 billion, while revenues from the rest of Asia rose by 12.9% to bring in more than €6.25 billion.
Its business in the Americas delivered an increase of 17.1% compared to 2022, reaching €2.5 billion, with the group describing its performance there as excellent, especially in the second half of 2023. It said the idea of taking an itinerant exhibition of the skills and know-how of its artisans, Hermès In The Making, to the US had also been a success.
There was growth in France of 19.8% and of 18.4% in other European markets. Revenues were more than €1.25 billion in its home market and €1.8 billion in the rest of the continent.
Sales aside, Hermès also reported that it created 2,400 new jobs in 2023. Its total number of employees is now 22,040, of which 13,700 people work in France. It said it had created a total of 5,400 jobs in the last three years, 3,300 of them in France. Across its workforce, 60% of Hermès employees are women.
The group made 55% of its products in its own workshops last year and, in total, 74% of all products were made in France. It said it was proud of the strong, long-lasting relationships it has built with key suppliers, with the average length of time it has worked with its top 50 suppliers working out at 19 years.
