Hermès praises confidence, know-how at the General Assembly

Drums and electric guitars at Hermès International? The French luxury house opened its annual general meeting on Thursday morning in Paris with a live performance by the fivefold Ishkero.

The company certainly rocked in 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, with revenue climbing by 23% across all regions and product categories, outpacing luxury rivals.

"We'll probably be less festive," chief executive Axel Dumas deadpanned once the group Jazz had been cleared away and he took his place behind a long white desk with three other Hermès executives in dark suits.

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The men reviewed the company's excellent financial results, noting that each of its 19 700 employees received a bonus of 4,000 euros for last year, and that the 2022 dividend would be 13 euros, compared to 8 euros in 2021.

Dumas reiterated his confidence for the coming year, emboldened by the "unique" business model of the firm and despite geopolitical turbulence and other uncertainties.

During the question and answer period, he claimed not to know that a key rival luxury had quoted sluggish in the US in the first quarter, while Hermès surged as it sold strongly in leather goods.

"We see good momentum in China and we see good momentum in the United States," said he said, suggesting his strong focus on desirable objects breeds resilience. "We are not the canary in the coal mine."

He described a "long-term strategy in China" and gradual expansion into new cities" in a stable and respectful way. I think that stability helps us move forward. We don't manage the group by quarters."

Last year, mainland openings included Zhenzhou and Shanghai Qiantan.

Hermès ended 2022 with 300 stores, crediting its new flagship at Madison Avenue and 63rd Street in New York to increase his fortune in the Americas. Dumas called it "a great success since the day it opened".

Major openings and expansions this year include Chengdu and the Beijing Peninsula in China; Chicago and Naples, Florida, USA, and Bordeaux, France.

Most of the meeting was devoted to highlighting the know-how and the creativity of the brand via clever and sometimes touching productions, films of craftsmen conversing around fine leathers, or disabled people hoisted on saddled horses to awaken new sensations and new movements.

A clip featured four animated Kelly purses performing an a cappella version of Rossini's overture in “The Barber of Seville,” their leather straps waving like limbs.

Among the most successful leather goods designs last year were the R.M.S. suitcase, the Kelly in Disorder and the Top Rock Strap handbag.