RIOM, France – Despite the ongoing luxury slowdown, Hermès shows no sign of reining in its production.
The maker of Birkin bags and silk squares on Friday inaugurated its latest leather goods factory.
Chief executive officer Axel Dumas cut the ribbon on a facility spanning 79,000 square feet in Riom, a city of 19,000 residents in Auvergne, a region in central France.
While other luxury companies have been seeing lackluster results in the first half of 2024, Hermès is riding what Dumas deemed a “flight to quality” during an analyst call on second-quarter results in July.
The company reported double-digit gains in all regions, achieving an 11.5 percent increase in revenues in the second quarter to 3.7 billion euros. Leather goods were among the strongest performers of the period, logging 17.9 percent organic growth.
The Birkin and Constance models will be the focus of the 250 artisans employed in Riom.
Hermès took over one wing of the Manufacture des Tabacs de Riom, a former tobacco factory built in the 19th century, with successive extensions bringing the total surface to nearly 10 acres.
Closed in 1975, it became a listed historical venue in 2004. The majority of the site has been rehabilitated for private housing and also hosted artistic residences. A number of graffiti murals left by the artists have been preserved by the luxury company.
Renovation of the two buildings forming the Hermès facility was entrusted to Paris-based firm Tracks-Architectes, which describes its approach as a frugal one rooted in the existing environment around each project.
Features such as Tyrolean renderings on the facades, windows made of the region’s grey-blue volcanic stone and slate roofs were cleaned or restored to their original condition.
Glass and transparency were favored for contemporary elements such as continuous glass roofs, the patio and awnings, as well as a bridge between buildings.
A key requirement was letting natural light reach the heart of the workshops, which are the first to be arranged in a multi-level layout.
Ahead of the inauguration, artisans demonstrated their skills at cutting, assembling and sewing in their airy workspaces, and visitors were even invited to try their hand at sewing the famous saddle stitch.
Salvaged materials were used for the planted courtyard, which hides rainwater retention and treatment basins. Garden furniture is also made from segments of concrete beams and steel sleepers.
The company’s 23rd leather goods workshop in France and the 12th to open since 2010, Riom forms a hub with the nearby 20-year-old Sayat leather goods factory. This grouping strategy, which the company has rolled out in nine regions in France, is meant to aid training and skill preservation.
An artisan making the Hermès Haut-à-courroies model in the new factory in Riom.
Courtesy of Hermès
In the Auvergne region, Hermès is working with local employment and adult education services as well as a nearby vocational high school. It also has a branch of its École Hermès des Savoir-faire in the region, which is accredited by the French ministry of education to deliver state-recognized qualifications.
Riom follows the opening of factories in Louviers, focusing on its famous Kelly purse; Tournes in northern France; and the expansion of its Pierre-Bénite silk-focused atelier near Lyon, and the Saint Junien handbag and glove facility in the New Aquitaine region of France.
Three more facilities are in the works. Earlier this year, Guillaume de Seynes, Hermès’ executive vice president, manufacturing division and equity investments, laid the foundation stone for factories in L’Île-d’Espagnac in Charente, which is slated to go onstream in 2025; and Loupes, a town near Bordeaux, slated for 2026.
Another site in Charleville-Mezières, located near the border with Belgium in the French Ardennes region, is on the plan for 2027.
Hermès currently counts 60 production sites in France, with around 7,300 artisans across the country. It also produces in nearby countries, such as watches made in its Switzerland-based factories and ready-to-wear in Italy.
