Good news from Italy for Hermès, whose business is speeding up: in 2018, the brand’s revenues nearly amounted to 6 billion euros (5.966 billion euros for the record), therefore considerably increasing by 7.5% at current rates of exchange and by 10.4% at fixed rates of exchange. How about 2019 forecast? The group also achieved a sound financial performance in the fourth business quarter of the year, as revenues went up by 10% at fixed rates of exchange. Looking at preliminary outcomes, the unit specialized in leather goods accessories (which drive half of the overall turnover) augmented its sales by 9.4%, at fixed rates of exchange (+6.3% at current rates) “after boosting its manufacturing capacity so to meet the market high demand”. They kept implementing a few development plans by starting up the Manufacture de l’Allan alongside some laboratories based in Guyenne and Montereau, which are due to come to completion by 2020. They are going to open a new manufacturing site, located in Louviers, by 2021, to subsequently hire 250 employees. From a geographical point of view, in Asia sales increased by 14% (except for Japan: +8%), in America they went up by 12%, in Europe they rose by 8%, mostly driven by the United Kingdom and Italy. The annual operating margin is expected to reach around 34% (in 2017 it was 34.6%). Axel Dumas, executive president of Hermès, said: “I am very happy about accomplishments and success achieved by Hermès. Such brilliant performance mirrors the appealing quality of our collections, which rely on loose creativity along with extraordinary technical expertise: that gives us the opportunity to uphold our responsible and sustainable growth model, in line with our craftsmanship values and entrepreneurial mindset”.
Hermès’s “loose creativity” nearly reaches 6 billion euros in 2018: +10%. Leather goods account for 50% of the turnover
