Luxury: Hermès sales explode and exceed pre-pandemic levels

Amounting to 2.1 billion euros, the increase reached 33% like-for-like compared to 2019, said the group, which did better than analysts' expectations.

The Hermès group is particularly well established in New Aquitaine, with a large leather goods workshop in Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, in Gironde, and another in Nontron, in Dordogne. It is in this same town of Périgord Vert that Hermès craftsmen decorate porcelain designed in factories in Limoges.

In total, all activities combined, the group employs nearly 600 people in Nontron. In Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, 160 leatherworkers work on the new site created in 2020. There will eventually be 260.

On the right bank of Bordeaux, Hermès cultivates discretion, out of sight

The luxury company maintains secrecy around its Saint-Vincent-de-Paul site, on the Bordeaux right bank. Sheltered from prying eyes, employees have been active there from early morning since mid-December.

“The strong growth in sales, in a still unstable context, testifies to the solidity of our model responsible craftsmanship, and the desirability of our collections to our customers around the world”, welcomed Axel Dumas, president of the group, quoted in the press release.

Sales exploded in Asia, jumped in America thanks to the recovery. In Europe, penalized by waves of health restrictions, they are stagnating.

Three-digit growth

Among the products sold by the group, famous for its bags and scarves, watchmaking is particularly popular. "The success of online sales has been confirmed", according to Éric du Halgouët, Chief Financial Officer, who reports "three-digit growth in all regions".

"For 2021, the impact of the epidemic remains difficult to assess due to the ongoing developments in the various geographical areas, but the trend for the first quarter is very encouraging", he noted during a telephone point with journalists.