French luxury goods group Hermès reported a 10% increase in third-quarter sales, to 3.7 billion euros, thanks mainly to Birkin bags and despite the crisis the industry is facing due to falling sales in China.
In the wider region (i.e. including Macau and Taiwan), “Hermès stands out from the other major groups,” the company’s chief financial officer, Éric du Halgouët, told reporters, “there has been no break in the trend.”
Third-quarter sales rose 11.3% at constant exchange rates, Hermes International SCA said in a statement, slightly above analysts’ estimates.
The leather goods manufacturer’s sales in Asia (excluding Japan) increased slightly by 0.6% to €1.58 billion in the third quarter, “despite the decline in traffic (in stores, bb) seen from the end of the new year in Greater China and on the high base of the third quarter of last year,” the group said in a press release.
This “drop in traffic” was offset by an increase in average customer spending, explained Éric du Halgouët, thanks to jewelry, leather goods and ready-to-wear. The CFO also highlighted “the loyalty of our main customers in mainland China”.