On October 24, luxury fashion house Hermes announced its third quarter sales. The company posted solid growth of 15.6% year-on-year, with only a slight slowdown in the pace of growth.
Sales for the three months to the end of September were 3.37 billion euros ($3.6 billion), an increase of 15.6% at constant exchange rates.
Axel Dumas, Chairman of Hermes said as follows in the statement: “The solid performance in the third quarter reflects the desirability of our collections all over the world, with still a sustained momentum in Asia and in the Americas. More than ever, in an uncertain global environment, we are reinforcing our investments and our teams to support growth.”
According to sales by geographical area data, growth was above 20% with a solid performance in all regions as of September 30, 2023. In Asia, excluding Japan, sales grew 21%, in the U.S. 20%, in Europe excluding France 20%, and in France 22%. In addition, sales in Japan achieved a 25% increase. Hermès Japan celebrated its 40th anniversary in September as well as this excellent performance.
Sales in the luxury industry as a whole are currently sluggish, leading analysts to lower their forecasts for the luxury sector. According to a sales report released earlier this month by leading firm LVMH, shoppers are cutting back on spending on luxury fashion due to rising inflation and economic uncertainty.
However, Hermes has a solid base of affluent customers who can invest in a Birkin that costs more than $10,000. This makes Hermès stand out and differentiate itself from other luxury brands. Therefore, the company is optimistically predicting that it will weather the economic turbulence better than its competitors.