Hermes is the most prestigious and coveted bag brand in the world.
In this article, you'll learn the fun facts about the French designer brand that produces the most expensive bags in the world.
Here are the popular questions about Hermes brand that will be covered in the facts and stats further.
- What is Hermes famous for?
- When did Hermes start?
- How many Birkin bags are made a year?
- When was Birkin bag created?
- What makes a Birkin bag so special?
- How many Birkin bags are sold a year?
- How many Hermes stores are there?
- How many Hermes stores in the world?
- How many Hermes store in Paris?
- How many Hermes stores in USA?
- How much is Hermes worth?
The stats include the most recent Hermes 2022 Year results, released on February 17th, 2023 on their official page.
Hermes Fun Facts and Stats (2023)
1. The fashion house was established in 1837 as a harness workshop by Thierry Hermès. They served European noblemen.
2. Hermes specialized in accessories for horse riding, which is noticeable if you examine their vintage Hermes ads.
3. Hermes was the first company to use the zipper for leather goods and clothing in France. Previously the zippers were invented in the US and unheard of in Europe.
4. The first Hermes handbag was manufactures in 1935. It was Sac-à-Depêches, a re-designed version of their previous models and the Hermes Kelly predecessor.
5. 78% of all Hermes goods are produced in France.
6. 91% of the Maison's sales are outside France.
7. Out of all production sites, 52 are in France, 2 in the US, 6 in Europe and 6 in Australia.
8. In the beginning of 2023, Hermes boasts 19,686 employees of which 11,500, or 68%, are based in France.
9. 6,000 of 11,500 Hermes French employees are craftsmen.
10. The number of the Hermes stores worldwide is 303 in the beginning of 2023.
11. 29 of the 303 worldwide stores are in France.
12. There are 42 Hermes boutique stores in the US.
13. The region that boats the most number of Hermes stores is Asia. La maison opened 124 stores there (2023). Europe takes the second place with 107 stores. North America is third with 43 boutiques. Latin America has 13 stores, Middle East has 10, and Oceania has 6.
14. In 2022, sales in Asia are responsible for 57% of Hermes income.
15. In 2022, Leather Goods make up 42% of the Hermes revenue. The next category is Clothing and Accessories (27%), and Jewelry & Home Goods (12%).
16. The first ready-to-wear a collection was released in 1967.
17. Throughout its 186-year history, Hermes has managed to remained a family business. Here are the owners in the historical order with their relation to the previous family member.
- Thierry Hermès
- Charles-Émile Hermès (son) (1880)
- Émile Hermès (son) (1922)
- Robert Dumas (son-in-law) (1951)
- Jean-Louis Dumas (son) (1978)
- Pierre-Alexis Dumas (son) (2005) became the Creative Director while the business was led by Patrick Thomas, his right hand man.
- Axel Dumas (nephew) (2013)
18. By 31 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.
19. Hermes is pronounced 'ehr-mez'. Hermès is a French brand, so the 'h' is silent. While usually in French if a word ends in 's' it is silent, the grave accent on the second 'e' means that the 's' is very softly pronounced.
20. Hermes company and its brand are worth 162.150.000.000 euro.
21. Hermes Market capitalization increased 3x in 5 years from 2017 to 2021.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
| Market capitalisation as at 31 December | €162.15 billion |
€92.86 billion | €70.33 billion | €51.18 billion | €47.11 billion |
22. An average price share also almost tripled from 2017 to 2021.
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |
|
12-month average share price |
€1,190.97 | €729.42 | €607.44 | €509.85 | €433.02 |
23. An average Hermes share price in 2021 was €1,190.97. Much cheaper than their bags :)
24. For the 2021 financial year Hermes shareholders earned €8.00 per share as dividends.
25. In 2021, Hermes repaired 161.000 leather products.
26. 100% of gold and silver used to produce Hermes jewelry are from recycled sources (no mining).
27. Hermes recurring operating margin during the first half of 2022 is 42%.
28. Famous Hermes silk scarves were introduced in 1937.
27. The most expensive Hermes scarf listed on their website is Pegase au Bloc embroidered scarf 140 costs $7,750. It was designed by Christian Renonciat.
28. The modern Hermes scarf measures 90cm square, weighs 65 grams and is woven from the silk of 250 mulberry moth cocoons.
29. Since 1937, Hermes has produced over 25,000 unique scarf designs and the rarer scarves are much sought-after by collectors.
30. The ubiquitous Brides De Gala scarf, first introduced in the 1970s, has been sold over 70,000 times.
31. An Hermes scarf is sold somewhere in the world every 25 seconds, global volume sales peaking in the late 1980s at over 1.1 million scarves.
32. The WSJ reports that Hermes generates 25% to 30% of total sales off only two of their two Hermes most popular handbags: the Birkin and Kelly.
33. Hermes does not use assembly lines, rather, only one artist may work on one handbag at a time.
Read more: 68 Fast Fashion Stats that will Break Your Heart
34. Due to the a wide range of materials, which include exotic skins such as alligator, ostrich, and crocodile as well as precious metals, and to the highest quality craftmanship is accepted, one handbag can take from 18 to 24 hours to create.
35. The Birkin bag (or simply Birkin) was only introduced in 1984. It celebrated 40 years in 2024.
36. Birkin bags are handmade from leather and are named after the English-French actress and singer Jane Birkin.
37. Jane Birkin was a style icon in the 1970s women's fashion.
38. The Hermes Kelly predecessor, The Sac à Dépêches, was introduced by Hermès’s head of firm Émile-Maurice in 1935. It was renamed the Kelly in 1977 after it became popular.
39. Third of the three most popular bags, Constance, was introduced in 1967.
40. In 2022, the production and distribution of Birkin bags is limited to 120,000 units per year.
41. Previously, according to a 2014 estimate, Hermès produced 70,000 Birkin bags yearly.
42. According to an analyst quoted by The New York Times in 2019, there are more than one million Birkin bags on the resale market.
43. A resale boutique in Miami has sold more than US$60 million in used Birkin bags in just five years.
44. Luca Solca, an equity analyst at Exane BNP Paribas, estimates that the production cost of a basic Birkin is around US$800.
45. In resale, a brand new Hermes Birkin can bring as much as a 50% to 100% gain, especially for rare colors.
46. In 2017, a Himalaya Birkin broke the world record for the most expensive handbag ever sold at auction when Christie’s Hong Kong fetched US$377,261 for the 30cm matt white bag whose 18-karat white gold hardware was encrusted with 245 diamonds. It fetched 2.94 million Hong Kong dollars ($380,000), which Christie’s says is a record for any handbag sold at auction.
47. Waiting lists at Hermès stores no longer exist. Demand for Birkin and Kelly outstrips supply, meaning that stock varies from store to store.
48. The wardrobe of Jamie Chua is filled with an impressive collection of more than 220 Hermès bags, including the rarest Himalaya Birkin/Kelly bags. Aside from that, her closet stores 300 pairs of shoes and several drawers full of diamond jewelry. Chua is said to own the largest and most expensive collection of Hermès bags in the world, with its value reaching at least $6,550,000 according to Bagaholic's estimation, and allegedly exceeding $10mln.
49. Rosmah Mansor, the second wife of Najib Razak, former prime minister of Malaysia, is also claimed to have the largest secret Birkin collection in the world. In 2018, Malaysian police found a total of 272 Hermès bags, worth nearly US$13 million, after seizing the family's three apartments in Kuala Lumpur.
50. Victoria Beckham is an avid Hermes Collector. Beckham is rumored to have a collection of Birkin bags worth over two million dollars, and has been photographed with quite an assortment of the Hermès handbag (mostly Birkins) over the years.
51. Kim Kardashian owns a hand painted Birkin bag by artist George Condo that is considered a priceless work of art.
52. Every Hermès bag is marked with a special blind stamp that identifies its year of creation. The first Birkin bags released in 1984 were marked with a N circle symbol.
53. An Hermès Birkin 30 Togo, in 2024, is priced at $12,500. Given that only 120,000 units are produced annually, Hermès plans to raise $1.5 billion from selling Birkins.
Summary
Which of these fun facts about Hermes you didn't know? Share in the comments!
Sources:
- hermes.com
- https://assets-finance.hermes.com/s3fs-public/node/pdf_file/2023-02/1676575268/hermes_20230217_cp_resultatsannuels2022_vf.pdf
- https://apnews.com/article/ebe668c5b0384373aafb38309c232c08
- https://www.asimplemodel.com/bips-category/how-much-does-it-cost-hermes-to-manufacture-a-birkin-handbag#:~:text=Per%20the%20article%2C%20production%20and,the%20article%20for%20more%20details
- wikipedia.org
- https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3185758/hermes-birkin-and-hermes-kelly-bag-collector-jamie-chua
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