Hermes is one of the first symbols of French luxury: always, the house embodies the elegance and good taste to the French.
Thierry Hermes founded the first store in 1837, rue Basse du Rempart (a street that has now disappeared) near the Church of the Madeleine. It sells all kinds of harness and horse accessories.
At the end of the century, his son Charles Émile Hermès decided to set up shop at 24 rue du Faubourg Saint Honore (where it still operates) and extends the range to bags and leather bags. Therefore, the company is facing the luxury and upscale. Quickly, Hermès develops a prestigious clientele made up of royalty and presidents.
Over the decades, the company remains in the hands of Hermes and the family continues to grow.
In the 50′s, the famous Kelly bag, inspired by the actress Grace Kelly made the reputation of the house and people like Ingrid Bergman or Jackie Kennedy become unconditional brand.
In 1984, the Birkin bag is a classic: timeless and ever timely. This is Jean-Louis Dumas, the CEO at the time who had the idea of this bag practical, functional and stylish while traveling with the muse of Serge Gainsbourg. The bag is made in limited series and for the model collector crocodile leather, it takes € 97 000!
The best seller is the famous Hermes silk scarf, a cult object of 90 cm square at the origin (now its dimensions are 70 cm by 70 cm). Each piece is unique and scarf is sold around the world every 20 seconds. There are to date more than 1500 references of the scarf, with hundreds of designers have succeeded every time to create unique designs.
In the late 70s, a descendant, Jean Rene Hermes, takes control of the company and under his leadership, clothing lines, jewelry and porcelain are created. It boosts the image of Hermes and invents new collections of Hermes handbags, ready-to-wear, perfumes, watches, jewelry …
The financial health of the group is so prosperous, so he bought the luxury brand of shoes John Lobb.
In 2005, an incident in the news: Oprah Winfrey, the famous and powerful American host is denied access to a shop and accuses the house of racism. She then called for a boycott of products and the representative of Hermès is moving on the same TV studio to make her a public apology.
In 2004, Jean-Paul Gaultier is designated to lead the women’s collections. He brings home a touch of eccentricity and modernity while respecting its traditions and its image.
Since 2007, Pierre Alexis Dumas replaced his father as head of art direction. Under his leadership, quality remains a high demand and a family affair. Currently, the family has more than 90% stake in the company and continue to watch over the legacy of his illustrious grandfather … Each step, from design to sale, is controlled by the family members. All products manufactured under the control of the brand is sold exclusively through a network of selected stores.
In 2006, Jean-Louis Dumas, patient, hands over to Patrick Thomas. Unfortunately he died four years later, on 1 May 2010. Just one month later, another blow that struck the group still mourning: Jean-Paul Gaultier leaves the artistic director of Hermes to concentrate on personal projects. Christophe Lemaire is replacing him at short notice. The young designer took an unusual path, hired by Lacoste in 2000, will present his first collection for Hermes Spring-Summer in October 2010.
Today, the ambition of the management group is to develop a strong growth in the U.S., to offset lower results in Asia, where Hermes realized over 27% of its sales.
Hermes employs over 4,000 employees worldwide and has over 250 outlets. Each year, the group more than 1, 5 billion in revenue and, despite the current context, the house still does not know the crisis.