Hermès

Hermès International S.A. (/ɛərˈmɛz/ ^ⓘ er-MEZ, French: [ɛʁmɛs] ^ⓘ), using the trade name Hermès Paris or simply Hermès, is a French luxury goods company founded in Paris in 1837, by Thierry Hermès. At the time, it specialized in the saddlery and harness maker trade, making equipment for the horse rider and his horse.

The company then branched out into many other trades, including leather goods, which is now its core business, followed by silk, ready-to-wear, watchmaking, jewellery, fashion accessories and perfumery. In 2020, the beauty division added a sixteenth business line. Its commitment to craftsmanship and product quality has made it one of the world's most famous luxury houses.

Hermès is still controlled by the Hermès family, descendants of the founder. It is divided into three branches, the Dumas, Guerrand, and Puech cousins, united within the H51 holding company. Except for the 2003-2013 period, during which Patrick Thomas was CEO, the company has always been run by a descendant of founder Thierry Hermès. Today, it employs around 25,000 people, including 7,000 craftsmen and 15,000 employees in France, where it has 60 manufactures and production sites. In 2024, Hermès generated sales of 15.2 billion euros, with a 4.6 billion euros net income.

Thierry Hermès was born on 10 January 1801 in Krefeld, in Germany, to a French father and a German mother. He settled in 1829 in Pont-Audemer, Normandy, a town known for working hides where he was employed as an apprentice to a saddlery and harness maker. Having become a master craftsman, he returned to Paris in 1837 where he opened his first workshop near the church of La Madeleine. He designed, made and sold high-quality harness and other equipment for horses. Hermès won several awards, including a first-class medal at the 1867 Exposition Universelle, which gave him access to a prestigious clientele, including world leaders such as Tsar Nicholas II. He died in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1878.

In 1880, Charles-Émile Hermès, Thierry's son, took over the direction of the company. He moved it to 24 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, where Hermès International is still headquartered. In 1889, assisted by his two sons, Adolphe and Émile-Maurice, he added other products for riders, such as horse blankets and silk casaques. They succeeded their father in 1902, creating Hermès Frères. Shortly after, Émile-Maurice began furnishing the emperor of Russia with saddles. Émile-Maurice also created the Haut à Courroies bag for horsemen to carry their saddle and boots.

During World War I, Émile-Maurice traveled to America. The country was booming, and transportation, particularly the automobile, was progressing. On his return, he and his brother applied their saddlery expertise, including saddle stitch sewing, to the expanding luggage market. He also returned from this trip with the zipper technology, which he introduced to leather goods and fashion. Subsequently, Émile-Maurice was granted the exclusive rights to use the zipper for leather goods and clothing. In 1918, Hermès introduced the first leather golf jacket with a zipper, made for Edward, Prince of Wales. The zipper became known in France as the fermeture Hermès (Hermès fastener).

In 1919, Émile-Maurice Hermès bought out his brother and became the sole proprietor. He extended the business to travel accessories, sports, automobiles, jewellery, and fashion. In 1922, the first leather handbags were introduced after Émile-Maurice's wife complained of not being able to find one to her liking. Émile-Maurice created the handbag collection himself. In the 1920s and 1930s, the designer Lola Prusac created and developed a line of clothing adapted to the emerging beach and mountain sports. Hermès fashion then appealed to an affluent clientele of all nationalities.

In the 1930s, Émile-Maurice's three sons-in-law, Robert Dumas, Jean René Guerrand, and Francis Puech, joined the company and created the ladies' bag with straps, which was revisited and christened the Kelly bag in the 1950s. Guerrand developed the perfumery business, while Dumas spearheaded the development of leather goods and silk. It was during World War II that orange, imposed by shortages and stockouts caused by the German occupation of France, became the official color of the house. At the same time, Émile-Maurice Hermès chose the drawing Duc attelé, groom à l'attente, by Alfred de Dreux to illustrate the Hermès logo.