ORIGINS & HISTORY OF

HERMÈS
Professor

Participants

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Table of content
1. Company profile 4
1.1. The mission statement and the values 4
1.2. The company’s history in a chronological order 4
1.3. Brief overview of growth and development 6
1.4. Brands portfolio 6
1.5. Revenues, sales values & volume 6
1.6. Category of luxury groups 6
2. Competitive analysis 6
2.1. Two main competitors of the selected brand 7
2.2. Segmentation 7
2.3. Main trends in the markets 7
3. Brand Strategy 7
3.1. Brand history/artistic directors 7
3.2. Brand portfolio 7
3.3. Brand values 8
3.4. Key products and other products 11
3.5. Brand and/or product codes 13
3.6. Communication strategy / Endorsers 13
4. Brand and history 14
4.1. Brand inspiration by history periods & products 14
4.2. Brand influence on history 14
5. Brand recommendations 14
5.1. Launch of a limited edition related to history of luxury 14
5.2. Discussion and justification 15
6. Sources of information 16

NOTES (this is going to be removed from the final paper)

- 20 pages in total, so if we have ~2 pages of resources it’s should be ~16
pages in total, giving us 3-4 pages each

- if you are still looking for a good citation tool:

https://www.scribbr.com/citation/generator/
- let’s all use in-text-citation :)
1. Company profile

1.1. The mission statement and the values

A brand that ensures the complexion of exclusivity remains tightly twined with all its

products, Hermès has a set of values they strongly abide to – freedom, demanding

craftsmanship savoir-faire, quality, authenticity and responsible growth. Hermès’s goal for

freedom is to aspire Creators and Director Creators. The high expectations in designs and

manufactures towards creation of objects has the aim to surprise and astonish customers. The

history background, the vision for the future and the current innovation are the key processes

to continue timeless yet unique masterpieces inheriting the trademark and essence of the

brand. Creativity of the metiers are expressed through the scarfs, beauty products, perfumes

and even watches from over 50,000 references made to being finalized into the fewer best

varieties.

Hermès proudly leverage their craftsmanship as their strength, as the second largest

craftsmanship, division with over 6,000 craftspeople in France.

The mission Hermès has is to create unique and authentic pieces that can gracefully

satisfy the wants and needs of the consumers. Its goal is to pursue excellence in each and

every products and services delivered, with only the best of craftsmanship.

1.2. The company’s history in a chronological order

Hermès started in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a harness maker, known for his discreet finesse

and endurance at all circumstances. He was awarded with a technical achievement at the

Universal Exhibition in 1867. Years later in 1880, Charles-Émile Hermès, the descendent of

the founder, moved its workshop and opens a store at an iconic location – 24 Faubourg Saint

Honoré, harness and saddle now become made to measure and the reputation of the company

continue to rise throughout Europe.

During the interwar era in 1922, Émile Hermès, son of Charles-Émile, inherit the company

and pivoted towards leather goods rather than focusing on saddlery and harnesses to adopt to

the difficult period. Fascinated by the American’s ‘close all’ opening and closing system of

the military carhood, which we now call it the ‘zip’ or ‘zipper’, he then obtained the exclusive

right to it and started using it on the house’s bags. The house then venture into new metiers

such as men’s ready to wear and golf jacket being introduced in 1925, jewellery in 1927, and

watches and sandals in 1928.

The first silk scarf was introduced by Robert Dumas, son-in-law of Émile Hermès in 1937.

He also introduced the first tie of the house in 1949, targeting men who were refused their

entrance into the casino. This smoothed the house into creating silk accessories as the demand

soon increased more and more. In 1955, Robert Dumas officially took over the company with

the agreement of Émile Hermès who only had 4 daughters and no sons. During his time in

the company, he also created one of the most signature pieces of the house – the Kelly Bag

and the Chaîne d’ancre bracelet. In 1956, Princess Monaco was seen carrying the bag, which

helped the bag’s success, Hermès then named the bag Kelly in tribute to the princess.

The house of Hermés was revolutionized in 1978 when the son of Robert Dumas, Jean-Louis

diversified and projected the house internationally. He embraced and empowered the métier

savoir-faire such as watchmaking, bootmaker and silversmith. The birth of Birkin Bag came

from Jean-Louis, inspired by Jane Birkin on a plane from Paris to London. In 1992, the

workshop moved out of their Saint-Honorè to Pantin, just right outside of Paris. It was a

success and 8 years later, the house opened another Maison Hermès on Madison Avenue in

New York.
In 2005, Pierre-Alexis Dumas, son of Jean-Louis, was appointed as the artistic director of

Hermès. The house started expanding its range of savoir faire, the first Haute Joaillerie was

able to be introduced in compliment of the jewelry and the expansiveness of the house’s

savoir faire. The house also expanded into making furnishing fabrics and wallpapers for the

first time.

In 2013, the nephew of Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Axel Dumas was appointed the Executive

Chairman; he has strengthened the house’s dynamic growth with the inauguration of many

Maison Hermès internationally. He also implemented the house’s digital strategy guiding

Hermès into the technological era. During his period, he also introduced a new metier –

Hermès beauty, which was 5 years worth of research and development.

1.3. Brief overview of growth and development

Text

1.4. Brands portfolio

Unlike the other luxury conglomerates such as LVMH, Kering, or even Richemont, Hermès is

not only unique due to its family-owned style of business, the company is also often discreet

about their acquisition of other companies. Nevertheless, Hermès International SCA has

acquired several companies mainly in efforts of leveraging their admiration and

empowerment of savoir-faire. Hermès mainly owns companies with high excellence of

savior-faire, such as but not limited to:

- John Lobb, the British boots maker;

 - St. Louis, the 430 years of crystal ware expert;

- Shang Xia, “creator of portals”;

- Métaphore, the innovator in interior design for textiles and fabrics;

- Bucol, “Holding Textile Hermès”;

- Verel de Belval, silk cloth master;

- Le Crin, London fabric company;

- J3L, develops and manufactures metal parts for luxury brand accessories;

1.5. Revenues, sales values & volume

With the newly consolidated key data, it is shown that in the first half of 2022, the brand has

already made 5,5 billion Euros, which is 61% of the previous year’s revenue of 9 billion

Euros, indicating a 29% of growth within the fiscal year. The current operating profitability

rate is 42% of the sales in June 2022, sums up to 2,3 billion Euros of operating income. The

pattern shows a strong growth in all geographic areas with a solid resilience in Asia. The

highest share volume was €1578.50 while the lowest share volume was €970.20 and the

shares volume was 105,569,412, as of first half of 2022.

1.6. Category of luxury groups

Text

2. Competitive analysis

2.1. Two main competitors of the selected brand

Text
2.2. Segmentation

Text

2.3. Main trends in the markets

Text

3. Brand Strategy

3.1. Brand history

Hermès has had very different artistic directors; at the very top, it’s important to note

that Pierre-Alexis Dumas, son of Jean-Louis, was named General Artistic Director in 2005.

Up until today, he still “signs off on every single Hermès product before it leaves the

workshop” (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020).

In the early years of the brand in the 1920s, Émile Hermès, son of Charles-Émile,

famously known for introducing and getting a patent for “the zipper”, took over Hermès. He

was a collector of works of art, books, objects and curiosities. This collection was and still is

an inspiration for the brand (“Six generations of artisans”, n.d.). In fact, in their most famous

flagship store, in rue Saint-Honoré, you can visit his collection, which is on the top floors of

the store; there are curiosities ranging from a full-size carriage, spy glasses, anything that

could tell a story, and from every country in the world. This collection sums up more than

13,000 objects, and it can only be seen with a private appointment; this cabinet of curiosities

inspired jewelry, motorcycles cases, silk scarves, and still is used to shape what Hermès is up

until today (“The Office of a Dreamer”, 2018).

 Hermès’ first ever women’s ready-to-wear collection was designed by a woman

named Catherine Karolyi, in 1967. She ran the women’s department until 1980, designing

clothing and accessories, including the iconic H buckle (“Six generations of artisans”, n.d.).

Into more current decades, Martin Margiela was the Creative Director for

womenswear from 1997 to 2003, and he was recognized for his tailoring and elegance; he

created a wardrobe that was timeless, that would never be outdated, without patterns or bright

colors. According to Allwood (2017), Martin Margiela created clothes for the person that was

wearing it, not for the person that was watching the runway; it was about innovation in

materials and different techniques. Also, he was the one that created the base colors for the

brand, which are still used up until today; the white, ivory, beige, brown and black (Léonard,

2017).

Jean-Paul Gaultier succeeded Margiela from 2004 to 2010, his focus was all about

design. He’s iconic for bringing outstanding Hermès handbags into the runway; besides

creating different designs, he also used different materials like fur, silk, etc. The Jypsiere bag

is one of his most famous designs. Up until today, some of his unique handbags from his time

at Hermès are among the highest-valued worldwide (Brownawell, 2022).

Next comes Christophe Lemaire, he directed womenswear from 2010 to 2014. Unlike

Gaultier, his approach was more elegant and sophisticated; he created layers of clothing with

a relaxed aesthetic and eccentric details (Carreon, 2014).

After Lemaire, the next and current Creative Director for Hermès is Nadège

Vanhée-Cybulski. She is part of a long line of women that have worked with the brand,

women like: Lola Prusac, Catherine de Karolyi, and Nicole de Vésian. Vanhée-Cybulski says

that in Hermès there “was always a strong sense of femininity in the house, always that

presence”(Stein, 2017). She is the first-ever women Artistic Director for the women’s

prêt-à-porter collection in the last 20 years. Unlike other Artistic Directors in modern times,
she hates the spotlight, and she translates that intimacy into the clothes. She creates fresh

designs with a mix of the two-centuries old traditions of quality and detail, and dresses

women with sensuality (Stein, 2017).

3.2. Brand portfolio

The brand in all its platforms presents itself as a whole unity, only Hermès. It is not

considered a conglomerate like its competitors, such as LVMH or Richemont (“Hermes

Brand Origin Case Study – Behind The Brand”, 2021). Nevertheless, it is important to note

that in 2010, they created a métier -one of the sixthteen- which could also be considered a

brand, called Petit H (“Six generations of artisans”, n.d.). It’s important to note that if any

customer wants to buy something from petit h, they have to from the Hermès website, there

isn’t a Petit h web page specifically.

This workshop was created by Pascale Mussard, niece of Jean-Louis Dumas, and its

approach is endless creativity by using the savoir faire of Hermès. This brand/métier has a

sole purpose: to make products from other materials that Hermès’ other métiers did not use

(“Six generations of artisans”, n.d.).

In addition to this, even though Hermès is not considered a conglomerate, they are

brands that are owned by the brand, which are: Crystal Saint-Louis, John Lobb, Puiforcat,

Metaphores, Bucol, Verel de Belval, Le Crin, and J3L. Hermès sells its products under all

these brand names, it’s their parent company or they’re its subsidiaries (“Hermes International

SA: Overview”, n.d.). Nevertheless, Hermès doesn’t advertise that it owns these companies,

they want to keep the “exclusivity” of the brand on the idea that it’s just one and only

Hermès.

3.3. Brand values

According to former CEO Jean-Louis Dumas, in Hermès “we don’t have a policy of

image, we have a policy of product”. Hermès states that their products should reflect quality
and refinement. The brand doesn’t do mass production and outsourcing in their supply chain,

they value the dedication that the artisans put into each product. (“Hermès – The Strategy

Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020).

The Hermès strategy revolves around 6 values which will be explained accordingly

below.

Spirit of Conquest (entrepreneurship): They believe in their employees, which is

why store managers are given complete freedom on how to manage their shops, they

are even given no budget limit to buy whatever they need to satisfy their customers.

Twice a year, Hermès hosts an event called “Podium” in Pairs, where a store

representative from every shop around the world has to attend. Each representative

has to pick one product from the brand to display, but it can’t be from the classic

product categories. The objective is that each rep presents one of Hermès’

complementary products. This makes the brand maintain its exclusivity, since not

every shop has the same products (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The

Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020).

Creativity: Every year, designers get a theme to make the collections. In 2019 it was

“in the pursuit of dreams”. Hermès ranks creativity very high in its pillars; in fact,

collaborations with designers are rooted to the company’s creative pillar, especially in

the home furnishings category (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic

Luxury Brand”, 2020).

Craftsmanship: They’re high standards to become a craftsman in Hermès; a

mandatory 2-year training has to be taken before one can start working on any leather

product. This makes production slower, but scarcity and exclusivity has always been

in the brand’s philosophy. No wonder why Hermès’ leather goods division hires only

200 craftsmen per year. “This practice has been in place across the company’s six
generations of craftsmen” (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic

Luxury Brand”, 2020).

Quality: One of the main principles of the brand is patience, since it is the one that

achieves the quality of its products. For a customer to get a Birkin bag, they have to

place an order and wait for a couple of months. Instead of adjusting price to demand

like normal brands, Hermès adjusts it to queues (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights

Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020). .

In addition to this, all new hires and artisans take a three-day in-house training session

called “Inside the Orange Box”, which tells the story of the brand from its origins and

the evolution of each product category. Hermès does this to make every employee feel

close to the culture, proving its commitment to the quality of the brand and heritage

(“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020).

Authenticity: Hermès does not believe in celebrity endorsement marketing; the fact

that only very few people can afford their products is the real endorsement. The

“limited edition” approach is a favorite of Hermès, as well as limiting the supply of

products to the stores, both to ensure that only the most authentic get to the shelves.

Also, Hermès never discounts (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic

Luxury Brand”, 2020).

Independence: They approach this value with the fact that their shareholders and

ownership is tightly limited to family. This in order to maintain the brand’s production

mainly in France and uphold its long-term vision (“Hermès – The Strategy Insights

Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand”, 2020). Also, while keeping the brand inside the

family, they can do the operations more easily.

3.4. Key products and other products

Hermés has a wide variety of products that includes leather goods, handbags, jewelry,

accessories, watches, home furnishing, perfumery and ready-to-wear. Since it was born in

1837, the brand has created some iconic pieces through the years. The handbags were the

most populars in the past few years but the brand has much more to its portfolio than just

bags.

Even though it's the Hermés bags that people fan about, it is the leather goods and

saddlery that mostly contribute to the company’s profit, about 50%, followed by

ready-to-wear and accessories, 23%, and silk and textiles, 9%. (Martin Roll on Hermès – The

Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand)

The most iconic product to this day is the "Hermés Birkin Bag". It was launched in

1984, with various options such as; types of leather, colors, silver or gold hardware and

add-on accessories. It became a cultural icon mainly because of the strong and powerful

women who were seen wearing it.

Each Birkin bag can range its cost from USD 12,000 to USD 300,000. It has an

exceptionally thorough handwork of a single craftsman, who takes between 18 to 25 hours to

complete the job manually, even more if the leather is a delicate crocodile skin. In 2014, an

extremely rare Himalayan Nilo crocodile Birkin bag was sold for USD 185,000, becoming

the second most expensive bag to be sold. According to Martin Roll, "Hermès is infamously

known to burn imperfect Birkins, showcasing its dedication to the finest quality".

It is clear that for most of Hermes' goods, leather is an essential part. The leather used

by Hermes can be from lizard skin, ostrich skin, alligator skin, calfskin, and many more.

Hermés does not produce more than 15 bags per month. This long production process

contributes to its rarity and also greatly affects the prices.

3.5. Brand and/or product codes

The iconic Hermés logo was created after World War II. It is a direct allusion to the
company's roots: bridles, saddles, harnesses, and riding boots. An image of a carriage driven
by a horse, standing in a proud and graceful position. With the horse, a gentleman with a big
hat and formal clothes. The black line is the road on which the whole carriage took a stop.
The logo is meant to be an honor to the start of the brand– a small workshop producing gear
for horse riders and offering services for them.

The logo doesn’t necessarily appear in every creation. Indeed, the absence of the logo
plays in favor of the company. Hermès is exclusive, characterized by their rarity, their
discretion, and the artisanal craftsmanship poured into the fabrication of each one of their
pieces.

The brand's color choice tends to be monochromatic, however it features a bright

splash of orange. The famous orange package is wished among all the fashion world. They
sometimes design all the logos as bright orange or place the white/black emblem on an orange
background.

3.6. Communication strategy / Endorsers

Brand communication and marketing strategies of Hermès always revolve around the

principles of “heritage” and “exclusivity” the company carries. Their marketing campaigns

celebrate the Hermès lifestyle and are not thought to directly sell. The company also sponsors

events that have a direct fit with their image and their legacy. Other than that, Hermès makes

use of strategic collaborations with independent artists and designers to raise visibility of their

products. The goal of these collaborations is to strengthen the exclusivity seen around specific

products. This is possible because of the classic “limited edition” strategy, but in the case of

Hermès, it puts a higher degree of exclusivity to the portfolio, because their products by

themselves are already priorly already very exclusive.

To buy a Hermés bag is not like buying in other luxury brands. Ordinary models can

directly be purchased at the counter, but high order models and limited models need to wait
for custom, but even if you wait, sometimes your purchase is not successful. However,

Hermés has strict rules about who can get their iconic bags. There is a long waiting list that

can extend up to 6 years. Even to be able to enter the waiting list is difficult because the

ranking of customers depends on previous purchases and the clients profile. Therefore, there

is no guarantee that you will be placed on the waiting list in the first place.

Hermés invests in television, print, internet videos and online visuals to promote

different collections at different times of the year. The company also makes use of humor and

comical situations in their advertising, which are clever ways of promoting the products. For

instance, in 2014, they launched a video campaign that used comical handshakes to showcase

its 2014 gloves collection.

References

Six generations of artisans. (n.d.). Hermès. Retrieved from:

https://www.hermes.com/us/en/story/271366-six-generations-of-artisans/
La liberté de création. (n.d.). Hermès. Retrieved from
https://www.hermes.com/fr/fr/story/235091-la-liberte-de-creation/
Hermes International SA: Overview. (n.d.). Global Data. Retrieved from
https://www.globaldata.com/company-profile/hermes-international-sa/#:~:text=The%20comp
any%20markets%20its%20products,Crin%2C%20and%20J3L%20brands%20names.
The Office of a Dreamer. (August, 2018).Oryx. Retrieved from
http://mandikeighran.com/2020/02/25/the-office-of-a-dreamer/
Allwoodm E,H. (March 27th, 2017). The untold story of Martin Margiela’s time at Hermès.
Dazed. Retrieved from
https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/35275/1/the-untold-story-of-martin-margielas-ti
me-at-hermes-antwerp-momu-exhibition
Brownawell, M. (May 23rd, 2022). The Best Hermès Bags from Jean-Paul Gaultier.
Sotheby’s. Retrieved from
https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-best-hermes-bags-from-jean-paul-gaultier#:~:text=J
ean%2DPaul%20Gaultier%20%2D%20Herm%C3%A8s%20Creative%20Director&text=The
%20revolutionary%20French%20designer%20sold,Martin%20Margiela's%20staid%2C%20s
ophisticated%20Herm%C3%A8s.
Carreon, B. (July 21, 2014). Hermes And Christophe Lemaire Part Ways After Four Years.
Forbes.Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bluecarreon/2014/07/21/hermes-and-christophe-lemaire-part-wa
ys-after-four-years/
Stein, S. (January 3rd, 2017). Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski. Interview. Retrieved from
https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/nadege-vanhee-cybulski-hermes
Chernikoff, L. (April 4th, 2022). The Hermès Principle. Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved from
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a39435211/the-hermes-principle-april-2022/
Léonard, F. (20 of April, 2017). Les années Margiela chez Hermès. Le Point. Retrieved from
aprilhttps://www.lepoint.fr/mode-design/les-annees-margiela-chez-hermes-20-04-2017-21210
34_265.php
Hermès – The Strategy Insights Behind The Iconic Luxury Brand. (December, 2020). Martin
Roll. Retrieved from
https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/hermes-the-strategy-behind-the-global-luxur
y-success/
Hermes Brand Origin Case Study – Behind The Brand. (November 8th, 202). 440 Industries.
Retrieved from
https://440industries.com/hermes-brand-origin-case-study-behind-the-brand/#:~:text=Unlike
%20many%20people%20think%2C%20Hermes,brand%20from%20a%20marketing%20view
.

4. Brand and history

4.1. Brand inspiration by history periods & products

Text

4.2. Brand influence on history

Text

5. Brand recommendations

5.1. Launch of a limited edition related to history of luxury

Text

5.2. Discussion and justification

Text
6. Sources of information