Hermes has long occupied a special place in the eyes of the other researchers as one of the most elite brands from which the bags and scarves have. Its popularity was not secret – in the past decade, sales have emerged by 226 %, and the brand took to new horizons.

With this type of prosperity, especially amid a modern slowdown in the luxury industry, it is difficult to think of Hermes as an ancient dusty company that had been around for nearly two centuries.

Instead, Pierre Alexis Domas, the coach of the French company and the sixth generation of Hermes.

“I would always like to say that Hermes is an old lady who has startup problems because we have grown very quickly in such a small period,” Dumas said during CBS news 60 minutes episode Issued in December. “How can you grow quickly without changing what makes you strong?”

There are several ways that Hermès performs differently from its competitors, such as determining quality priorities for the quantity. For this reason,Dumas said, even if Hermes bags come at a priceMore than 10,000 dollarsThis is for a justified reason.

“The speed is the value of the structure of the twentieth century,” he said.

“We have moved from horse carts to the Internet. Will we be obsessed with speed and immediate satisfaction? Maybe not? There is another form of relationship with the world, which is associated with patience, to take enough time to make things right.”

Hermes formula is not similar to those of its opponents, but it succeeded. Its sales for 2014 amounted to 4.1 billion euros, and by 2023, those numbers rose to 13.4 billion euros. The shares of the company have increased by 284 % in the past five years.

Hermes’s journey was so amazing Empty millionaires Among the family relatives of the founding. Dumas has been with the French weight maker for nearly two decades, heading the last growth wave.

Few others managed to repeat the success of Hermes in maintaining the base of loyal customers among the wealthy with a relatively unclear survival. For example, the company does not have a marketing section. However, the demand for the iconic Hermes bags has exceeded the supply – a phenomenon that unintentionally added to the French company’s attractiveness.

Expanding new altitudes: Hermes style

One craftsman works on a bag that can take at least five years of training Several hours To make. This automatically creates a scarcity as Hermès produces lower bags than huge production brands, which in turn raises prices.

Some critics raised issues about the Aqaba maker, which creates an artificial scarcity. But Dumas pays this idea.

He said: “It makes me smile that this is a idea of ​​a demonic marketing. It can only come out of people who are obsessed with marketing.” “Whatever we have, we put on the shelf and walk.”

The company was looking forward to Trained More craftsmen to help put out thirst, apparently saturated with Hermes bags.

Another criticism of the Hermes model is how shoppers can not simply walk in a store and expect to buy Birkin. They must work with a The installed purchase date Among the other Hermes elements before they can see their most popular bags of thousands of dollars.

A few shoppers gathered Which makes it difficult To buy their higher level products, even if people are ready to pay money for them.

So far, this issue has not resulted in consumers Any successAs an American judge said during a hearing last year: “Hermes can manage her business in any way she wants. If she chooses to make five Birkin bags per year [for] To them, it can do so. “

Despite Hermes’s systematic approach to making bags, the sixth generation of the founding family also sought to learn from their ancestors’ mistakes.

“I do not want to be like myself in the family, that is, I die in his position,” said Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermes. the Financial times In September, when talking about planning the caliphate. “The danger is to fall in love with what one has made, and the inability to change. At some point, you need new eyes.”

The actors in Hermes are no longer immediately luckRequest to comment.

A copy of this story was originally published on Fortune.com On December 17, 2024.

This story was originally shown on Fortune.com

https://fortune.com/img-assets/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-2169354278-e1734438127347.jpg?resize=1200,600
2025-03-28 06:07:00