(1). 1:The stolid approach has paid off in the pandemic. 2:Sales will probably drop this year because of store and factory closures in the spring. 3:But Hermes looks in better shape than its competitors, says Luca Solca of Bernstein, a broker. 4:It is less reliant than they are on Asian tourists shopping in Paris or New York. 5:It makes most of its wares itself, so does not need to bail out third-party suppliers. 6:Demand wobbles are less of a problem given those long waiting lists. 7:And if well-heeled consumers are to spend in a recession, they favour timeless brands.
(2). Mr Dumas is alive to this. Hermes has started to branch out into cosmetics, offering aspiring shoppers a cheaper entry point than Birkins (or skateboards). It has invested in a Chinese venture, Shang Xia, that may be useful if consumers in China—big buyers of luxury goods—start coveting local baubles instead of French ones.
(3). 1:Such moves are not so different from Mr Arnault’s. 2:He might have executed the same savvy strategy at Hermes; LVMH executives still speak of the “brand that got away” with reverence. 3:But the Hermes clan can draw satisfaction from the fact that their investment in the family firm has yielded returns of over 400% since 2010— even juicier than if they had traded their stakes for LVMH shares.