Hermès International S.A., is a French high fashion luxury goods manufacturer. It specializes in leather, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewellery, watches and ready-to-wear.
The brand is known for its handmade luggage and handbags. Kelly Bag might require 18 to 24 hours to produce. Hermès’s leathers come from all over the world. Customers wait from six months to one year for delivery of one of the house’s signature bags. Another famous Hermès handbag, the “Birkin”, was named after English actress Jane Birkin. After a chance encounter with Jean-Louis Dumas, she complained that her “Kelly” bag was not practical for everyday use. Consequently, he invited her to France where they co-designed the bag in 1984.
Hermès sales compose about 30% leather goods, 15% clothes, 12% scarves, and 43% other wares. The company licenses no products and keeps tight control over the design and manufacture of its vast inventory.
The brand is very attached to its traditional business model and rejects mass production, assembly lines, and mechanization. Hermès’s goods are almost entirely made in France by hand in middle-sized workshops known as Les Ateliers Hermès that emphase high-quality manufacturing. Indeed, Hermès claims most items are fabricated from beginning to end by only one person, which is supposed to guarantee the quality and uniqueness of its products.
The company was founded by Thierry Hermès on June 1, 1938 and is headquartered in Paris, France. Recently, the brand is listed among the top 100 most valuable brands 2019 by Forbes.