Continuing to trail its luxury peers, Hermes International said Friday its third-quarter sales rose 3 percent to 351.3 million euros, or $446.9 million, a 6.2 percent bump at constant exchange rates.
Patrick Thomas, chief executive officer of Hermes International, characterized the quarterly growth as consistent with the firm’s full-year target of 7 to 7.5 percent.
He also noted that gains would have been close to 10 percent were it not for the elimination of a range of canvas bags considered a threat to Hermes’ upscale image. Thomas also trumpeted robust growth in Europe, excluding France, where sales jumped 12.6 percent in the quarter to 63.6 million euros, or $80.9 million.
“Also, luxury has been going very well in the U.S.,” he added. The Americas logged a 7.5 percent organic increase to 55.1 million euros, or $70 million.
Gains were more modest in points east, with an 1.8 percent organic increase in Japan to 94 million euros, or $120 million, and a 3.1 percent rise in Asia to 156.7 million euros, or $199.4 million.
However, Thomas asserted that Hermes is outperforming its peers in Japan, where demand for European luxury goods is softening as spending shifts to other categories such as leisure.
Last month, Hermes expanded its 10-story flagship in Tokyo’s Ginza district to an adjacent building, adding 3,900 square feet of retail space and a café with furniture designed by Martin Szekely.
And last week, Hermes christened a new six-story building on Seoul’s prime luxury strip, boasting 9,700-square-feet of retail space over two floors, a café, an equestrian library and an art gallery currently featuring works by French artist Daniel Buren.
For complete coverage see Monday’s issue of WWD.