Hermès
Hermès International S.A. (/ɛərˈmɛz/ ⓘ er-MEZ, French: [ɛʁmɛs] ⓘ) is a French luxury design house established on June 15th 1837. It specializes in leather goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the 1950s, its logo has been a depiction of a ducal horse-drawn carriage.
For the ancient Greek deity, see Hermes.Company type
1837 in Paris
24 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré – 75008 Paris, France
48°52′08″N 02°19′18″E / 48.86889°N 2.32167°E
Axel Dumas (Executive Chairman), Henri-Louis Bauer (Executive Manager and Chairman, Emile Hermès SARL), Éric de Seynes (Chairman, Supervisory Board), Pierre-Alexis Dumas (Artistic Executive Vice President)
Clothing and accessories
€13.427 billion[1] (2023)
€5.650 billion (2023)
€4.311 billion (2023)
€20.447 billion (2023)
€15.203 billion (2023)
Hermès family and others
(see shareholder structure)
22,037 (2023)
Designers[edit]
The designers throughout the company's history have included Lola Prusac, Jacques Delahaye, Catherine de Karolyi, Monsieur Levaillant, Nicole de Vesian, Eric Bergère, Claude Brouet, Tan Giudicelli, Marc Audibet, Mariot Chane, Bernard Sanz, Martin Margiela, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christophe Lemaire, Véronique Nichanian (the men's-wear designer since 1988), and Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski (since 2014 succeeding Lemaire).[2]
Exotic leathers of the bags make them highly valuable and noticeable, e.g., ostrich leather
Crystal lighting and glass[edit]
Belonging to the group is the crystal glass manufacturer Saint-Louis, the oldest crystal company in the world. Since its founding in 1586, Saint-Louis has drawn design inspiration from the decorative periods of the 19th and 20th centuries, from the Restoration to Modern styles, through Napoléon III, Art Nouveau and Art Déco. Saint-Louis became one of the Hermès Group Métiers in 1989.[52]
The Hermès Foundation[edit]
The Hermès Foundation was launched in 2008. It is chaired by Pierre-Alexis Dumas, the artistic director of Hermès, and directed by Catherine Tsekenis.[53][54] The Foundation's mission is to sponsor and support creation and craftsmanship activities.[55]
In 2010, it launched the biannual Emile Hermès Prize that rewards an innovative project in the field of design. In 2014, the three winners who shared the first prize, chaired by Italian architect Michele De Lucchi, were Johan Brunel and Samuel Misslen for their "Ventilated Capsule," Antoine Lesur and Marc Venot for "Hut," and Paul Tubiana for "Leon."[56] In 2012, the Foundation participated in the "New Settings" show for the promotion of the arts.[57] In 2013, the Foundation supported the exhibition of works by young artists shown at the Palais de Tokyo.[58] In January 2014, it has pledged a three-year support of the Cité internationale of Aubusson tapestry.[59]
The Foundation operates several contemporary art spaces,[60] including La Verrière in Brussels, Belgium,[61][62] Le Forum in Tokyo, Japan,[63] and Atelier Hermès in Seoul, South Korea.[64]
[edit]
By the end of December 2016, the Hermès family, as partners of Émile Hermès SARL and their family members, collectively owned 65.1% of the share capital of Hermès International S.A. through a number of asset holding companies and direct ownerships, which entitled the family to 74.8% of the voting rights on allocation of net income and 77.2% on all other matters.[65] Luxury-goods conglomerate LVMH held 20.21% of shares that it amassed in the latter half of 2010[66] and 13.08% of votes at the same date, with 0.39% of shares held as treasury stock and the remaining 16.61% as free float.[67] Speculation that LVMH would launch a takeover bid for Hermès has been repeatedly denied[68][69] by its chairman Bernard Arnault. Some industry insiders have been in doubt, such as René Weber, an analyst at Zürich's Vontobel Investment Banking, who has claimed: "Arnault is not afraid of a fight and a lot of his battles have been successful for him and his shareholders. Whether he can eventually succeed with [a takeover of] Hermès is still an open question." Bertrand Puech, who chairs the main Hermès family holding company, has criticised LVMH's acquisition of Hermès shares and called on the company to reduce its stake by half.[70]